# Origin of Boondocks?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-boondocks/293171>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [March 6, 2005, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-boondocks/293171 "2005-03-06T04:04:12Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Chairman\_Pow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/838e76/32.png) [@Chairman\_Pow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chairman_Pow)\
**Post date:** [March 6, 2005, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-boondocks/293171/1 "2005-03-06T04:04:12Z")

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OK, I may have something to contribute to science again (don’t ask about the first time, I’m still trying to figure out how to make money off of it).

Also, I distinctly recall seeing threads about the origin of the term “Boondocks,” but search here and in the SD Archives doesn’t turn up anything. I hope I haven’t been imagining it.

So, here we go: I’ve often heard people wondering where, if anywhere, the “Boondocks” are.

And, I think I’ve found them.

While reading _Cryptonomicon_, a Japanese commander tells Goto Dengo that their Phillipine “base” they are at is called “Bundock.” Being a savvy guy whose lived off the land for awhile knows that “Bundock” is actually a Tagalog word that means roughly “huge freakin’ area where there really isn’t anything.”\*

I offer this up as a potential origin of the phrase. Can anyone confirm or deny?

- Unfortunately, this is paraphrased. I read nearly 400 pages of this book today (250 at the last sitting) and it’s really all melted together. The reference in question is around page 750-800 in the paperback (I want to say 770s) and I’m obviously paraphrasing. If need be, tomorrow I’ll go back and find the exact line.

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**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\
**Post date:** [March 6, 2005, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-boondocks/293171/2 "2005-03-06T04:10:26Z")

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boondocks  
1910s, from Tagalog bundok “mountain.” Adopted by occupying American soldiers in the Philippines for “remote and wild place.” Reinforced or re-adopted during World War II. Hence, also boondockers “shoes suited for rough terrain” (1953).

> **[boondocks | Origin and meaning of boondocks by Online Etymology Dictionary](https://www.etymonline.com/word/boondocks)**
>
> BOONDOCKS Meaning: "remote and wild place," 1910s, from Tagalog bundok "mountain." Adopted by occupying American soldiers… See definitions of boondocks.

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**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\
**Post date:** [March 6, 2005, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-boondocks/293171/3 "2005-03-06T04:12:03Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> _1910s, from Tagalog bundok “mountain.” Adopted by occupying American soldiers in the Philippines for “remote and wild place.” Reinforced or re-adopted during World War II. Hence, also boondockers “shoes suited for rough terrain” (1953)._

> **[boondock | Search Online Etymology Dictionary](https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=boondock)**
>
> The online etymology dictionary (etymonline) is the internet's go-to source for quick and reliable accounts of the origin and history of English words, phrases, and idioms. It is professional enough to satisfy academic standards, but accessible...

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**Author:** ![Chairman\_Pow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/838e76/32.png) [@Chairman\_Pow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chairman_Pow)\
**Post date:** [March 6, 2005, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-boondocks/293171/4 "2005-03-06T04:24:24Z")

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Aha. OK, so I didn’t contribute anything to science, but that’s cool.