Meaning
Informal, chiefly American term for a remote, thinly settled, rough or rural area, almost always used with 'the'. It began as soldiers' slang for wild, brush-choked country and generalized to any isolated backwater far from town. Tone ranges from neutral description to a teasing suggestion that a place is hopelessly out of the way. Casual Americanism, usually affectionate or mildly dismissive, and nearly always with 'the'. Regional use: American English (Tagalog loan via the US military, ca. 1909).
Origin
Borrowed from Tagalog bundok, 'mountain', by American troops around the occupation of the Philippines at the start of the 20th century; historians of the Philippine-American War (surveyed in Wikipedia's cited literature, including Paul Kramer's study) trace it to soldiers confronting guerrillas in the mountainous interior. Merriam-Webster dates first known use to about 1909, when it was chiefly military slang for rough brush country, and Etymonline records it from the 1910s with renewed currency among World War II troops. Derivatives followed: 'boondockers', slang for field boots, by 1944, and the clipped 'boonies' by the mid-20th century. The meaning had slid from 'mountain' to 'any remote wild place' once the word was home in America.
Research Sources
References used to check this entry’s meaning, history, or documented forms.
Variants
- boondock (attributive, as in boondock boots)
- boondockers
- the boonies
Usage Examples
- Their cabin sits way out in the boondocks, forty minutes from the nearest grocery store.
- We got hopelessly lost in the boondocks after the GPS signal died.
- Growing up in the boondocks meant inventing your own weekend entertainment.