boondocker

English

Etymology

From boondock +‎ -er, adopted by 1944 as U.S. services slang word for field boots during World War II under the U.S. military.

Noun

boondocker (plural boondockers)

1. A kind of combat boot worn in the US Marine Corps.
   • 1967, Erick Berry, Underwater Warriors: Story of the American Frogmen, page 9:

     The correct method is to crawl out flat on top of the line, balancing yourself with one heavy boondocker boot hanging down as a counterweight. Then you let loose, and swoop!

2. (US, informal) A person who lives in a rural location.
   • 2018, C. Michael Hall, Dieter Müller, The Routledge Handbook of Second Home Tourism and Mobilities, page 324:

     While these no/low-cost opportunities exist for freedom camping in the US, there is also a vast array of commercial sites offered by federal agencies at tariffs acceptable to the boondockers.