Boondock
- For the comic strip, see The Boondocks.
Boondocks refers to a remote, usually brushy rural area. The expression was introduced to English by American military personnel serving in the Philippines during the early years of the 20th century. It derives from the Tagalog word bundok, meaning "mountain". It also carries the implication that it is "backward" or "unsophisticated"; hence taga bundok "people who live in the hinterland": i.e., people who are backward or unsophisticated.
Boondocks or diminutively "the boonies" has since evolved into a more general American slang term for "the country" or any rural/wilderness location in general, regardless of topology or vegetation that is isolated and away from "the action" or the comforts and variety of urban life. A similar word, bundu is part of South African Slang.
Equipment suitable for traveling in the boondocks has been jokingly referred to as "boondockers".
Boondock is considered by some to be an inherently funny word.
A boondock has also come to mean a slight rise in elevation found in vegetated sandy landscapes such as Colorado's San Luis Valley. Wind action on sand causes erosion on unvegetated terrain and deposition on the vegetated terrain which gradually rise in elevation becoming low mounds perhaps 5 feet (1.5 m). Sometimes used by coyotes for their dens.
In 1965, Billy Joe Royal had a hit song called "Down in the Boondocks", which is often heard on "oldies" radio programs.
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Landforms | Tagalog words