![]() ![]() ![]() This usage of doodlebug actually started as an insult but seems to have been coopted as an affectionate name for those bold souls who head out in search of black gold. ![]() Someone in the business, reputable and otherwise, of locating oil depositsĭoodlebugging was once pretty close to dowsing for water. While ant lions are the most well known as doodlebugs, the term has also been used to describe other insects like pill bugs and some beetles, although this seems to be earned simply thanks to how goofy the nickname sounds.ģ. When the (frankly kind of scary-looking) ants move through the sand, their big butts drag behind them, leaving behind scribbly little trails. These squat little bugs, who mostly live in loose sand where they create pit traps, earned their goofy nicknames not because they are thought to be stupid, but instead because of their unintentional drawings. Doodlebugs, as they refer to an actual creature are usually associated with ant lions in their larval form. The other most frequently used meaning of doodlebug is probably as a description of an actual insect. The term “doodlebug” seems to have arisen in 1800s, initially meant to once again mean, “idiot.” Today, the term has evolved to describe someone who incessantly draws.ĭoodlebug seems like a pretty cute name for this monster. Over the next couple of centuries it increasingly came to be used as a verb meaning to waste or fritter away time, and it wasn’t until the mid-20th century that it seems to have taken on the specific association with drawing and scribbling. The term “doodle” actually dates back to the 17th century when it was used as a pejorative to describe simpletons. Just look at this doodlebug… (Photo: Library of Congress/Wikipedia) So what exactly is a doodlebug? All of these things. At this point, though, the word can be used for any number of meanings from someone who simply likes to draw, to a person who wastes all sorts of time. ![]() “Doodlebug” is one of those quaint old terms that seems to have been around forever, and crops up in the news repeatedly: this past year saw the discovery of an orphaned kangaroo by that name and deep dive on the actual insect. A doodlebug is much more than just a bug. ![]()
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