Boondoggle /bo͞onˌdäɡə/ noun, verb 

Definition: Boondoggle has a few definitions: 

1. A piece of work that is unnecessary and that wastes time and/or money.
2. A braided cord worn by Boy Scouts as a neckerchief slide.
3. Doing something that is a waste of time.
4. To deceive

Etymology: There is much speculation on the origin of “boondoggle.” One interesting theory traces it to supposed leather toys Daniel Boone created for his dog. A more likely etymology traces the word back to the 1920s when scoutmaster Robert Link coined the word to refer to braided leather cords worn by the Boys Scouts of America. Apparently, one of these boondoggles was gifted to the Prince of Wales at the 1929 World Jamboree.

In a Sentence

The front page murder trial, scheduled to air live, was a fiasco that critics referred to as a technological boondoggle.

Will that new welfare reform bill turn out to be a multibillion-dollar boondoggle or a legitimate attempt to reform a corrupt and convoluted process?

The road improvement plan turned out to be a boondoggle to fraudulently award tax money to a straw project.

Synonyms 

Deception, Hoax or Neckerchief

Antonyms 

Honesty, Uprightness