boondock

Definition

A brushy, rural area or location.

Etymology

1910s during or around the Philippine–American War after the Spanish–American War, from Tagalog bundok (“mountain”), adopted by occupying American soldiers serving in the mountains or rural countryside of the American-occupied Philippines under the United States Military Government of the Philippine Islands. The term was reinforced or re-adopted during World War II under the U.S. military, where terms like boondockers (“shoes suited for rough terrain”) came originally in 1944 as U.S. services slang word for field boots. It was later shortened to boonies by 1964 originally among U.S. troops serving in the Vietnam War in reference to the rural areas of Vietnam, as opposed to Saigon.

Example Sentences

• "We got lost out in the boondocks, miles from anywhere."
• "It was hard to respect his opinion after he'd called their humble but respectable town "a godforsaken boondock.""
• "My family has just rediscovered tiddlywinks. […] [I] haven't quite worked out the boondock!"