American slang for using dowsing rods, divining rods, or other pseudoscientific instruments to try to locate underground oil or gas deposits. The term comes from the oil industry of the early twentieth century, when 'doodlebug' referred to any unscientific or dubious prospecting method. Wildcat oil drillers and petroleum speculators who relied on such methods were met with equal parts amusement and suspicion by those who preferred geological surveys.
The old wildcatter made his fortune not through doodlebugging but through sheer stubborn drilling wherever his gut told him to.
No comments yet — say something.
(US) dowsing in search of petroleum.
No comments yet — say something.
Add your own interpretation of "doodlebugging".
Regional slang from around the English-speaking world — British, Australian, Irish, Caribbean, Nigerian, Filipino, AAVE, and the hyphenated-English dialects that make the internet sound local.
See all Regional & Other slang on Slangora.