underwater basket weaving
- noun
- /ˈʌndərˌwɔtər ˈbæskɪt ˈwiːvɪŋ/
- Slang
:
tejer cestas bajo el agua
- Many students joked that their major in underwater basket weaving would not help them in the job market.
Examples
-
I gallantly offered to save them the money of supporting me through university, getting a general degree in something useless like underwater basket weaving for lack of my having any other solid direction.
Blog text (6) -
This is the latest generation of living-in-the-basement losers studying dead languages and underwater basket weaving to fall for the "One."
Blog text (16) -
He described his summer course in underwater basket weaving as merely a fun distraction from his serious studies.
-
Critics argue that some university programs, such as underwater basket weaving, lack real-world value.
Synonyms
14
9.9
Work that looks useful but wastes time or money
A funny hobby of making cloth items using yoghurt as yarn
How Practical
4
3.5
1
3.4
1
2.7
- Slang
4
3.9
Surface Forms
Morphology
underwater + basket + weaving
The literal sense — weaving baskets beneath the water — is directly derivable from 'underwater' + 'basket' + 'weaving', so the composition is partly transparent. However, the common ironic/metaphorical use meaning 'a trivial or non-academic course' is a cultural/idiomatic extension that is not predictable from the constituents alone, making the item only partially transparent to learners without exposure.
Etymology
Underwater basket weaving creates a silly picture of someone trying to make a basket by weaving while actually being underwater, a clearly pointless and difficult task. That's why people use it as a joke for 'a trivial or pointless course' or activity.