What does boodling mean?
Boodling refers to political corruption—specifically the practice of bribery and graft by which public officials enrich themselves or their allies through public money and contracts. The word derives from 'boodle,' an American slang term for ill-gotten money or spoils that itself traces back to the Dutch 'boedel,' meaning property or estate. Boodling became a household term during the Progressive Era, when muckraking journalists used it relentlessly to describe the corrupt machines that dominated cities like New York, Philadelphia, and Minneapolis. To call something boodling is not neutral: the word carries strong pejorative force, implying venal, systematic dishonesty rather than mere inefficiency. Today it survives mostly in historical writing about municipal reform and in the vocabulary of political rhetoric, giving speakers a colorful, era-flavored alternative to blander terms like 'corruption.' Its related forms—the verb 'to boodle' and the noun 'boodler'—share this distinctly American, anti-machine heritage.
The act or practice of political bribery and graft, especially involving public officials and public funds.
"The investigation uncovered years of boodling between the city's paving contractors and its aldermen."
Chiefly American and strongly tied to Progressive Era reform journalism; now largely historical in flavor.
Present participle of 'boodle': to engage in bribery or graft, especially as a politician.
"Officials caught boodling with public contracts faced swift expulsion from the party."
The verbal use is rarer than the noun; both are informal American English.
When reformers cleaned up American cities a century ago, they didn't fight 'corruption' in the papers—they fought 'boodle' and its practitioners, the boodlers.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of boodling
Boodling comes from the American slang word 'boodle,' meaning bribe money or spoils, which likely derives from the Dutch 'boedel' (property, estate), carried into American English via New York Dutch settlement. The verb 'to boodle' arose in late nineteenth-century America amid municipal graft scandals, and 'boodling' as its verbal noun described the practice of buying and selling public office and contracts. A separate, older sense of 'boodle'—meaning the whole lot or crowd, as in 'the whole kit and boodle'—shares the same Dutch root but developed independently of the corruption sense.
Related word forms
How boodling is actually used
Strongly associated with American political history, particularly late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century municipal corruption scandals; it carries an old-fashioned, journalistic flavor today and is rarely used outside historical or rhetorical contexts.
Easily confused with boodling
Canoodling means kissing and cuddling affectionately, while boodling refers to political corruption and bribery.