yak shaving

Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary

Contents 1 English 1.1 Etymology 1.2 Noun 1.2.1 Quotations 1.2.2 See also

[edit] English

[edit] Etymology

Uncertain, probably coined by Carlin Vieri in his time at MIT (1993-8), based on an episode of the The Ren and Stimpy Show.

[edit] Noun

yak shaving (uncountable)

1. (idiomatic) Any apparently useless activity which, by allowing you to overcome intermediate difficulties, allows you to solve a larger problem.

   I was doing a bit of yak shaving this morning, and it looks like it might have paid off.

[edit] Quotations

• For examples of the usage of this term see the citations page.

[edit] See also

• bikeshedding
• when you're up to your neck in alligators, it's easy to forget that the initial objective was to drain the swamp