Lexicon Valley: The origin and etymology of a wasteful mystery word.

An Ambitious Enterprise, Quixotic and Unavailing

An Ambitious Enterprise, Quixotic and Unavailing

A show about the mysteries of English.
Sept. 21 2015 9:46 AM

An Ambitious Enterprise, Quixotic and Unavailing

Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss a very wasteful word with lexicographer Ben Zimmer.

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Listen to Lexicon Valley Episode No. 69:

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Mike Vuolo and Bob Garfield discuss the etymology and history of the word boondoggle with Wall Street Journal language columnist Ben Zimmer. For more on the word, visit Zimmer’s Word Routes column on Vocabulary.com.

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Lexicon Valley is sponsored by Open Account, a podcast series created by SuChin Pak and Umpqua Bank. Open Account explores, through honest and sometimes comical interviews, our uncomfortable silence around money. Open Account is available now on iTunes.

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