toolishness
nounEtymology From tool + -ish + -ness, influenced by foolishness.
1
The nature of being a tool.
- The simplest tool I can think of is a piece of gravel used for making a road. Nothing is done to it, it owes its being a tool to the fact that is subserves a purpose. A broken piece of granite used for macadamizing a road is a more complex instrument, about the toolishness of which no doubt can be entertained.a. 1902, Samuel Butler, Geoffrey Keynes and Brian Hill editors, Notebooks: Selections, 1951, page 122
2
Excessive concern with tools rather than results.
- The walls and halls of Hechinger headquarters are bedizened with icons to tools and toolishness, ranging from classic photographs to a machine that makes […]1989 September 22, “Touching Tools Of the Trade”, in Washington Post:
- By now we should have learned that "toolishness" is foolishness. Showering fancy equipment and toys on classrooms without smart planning is unlikely to […]2002 March 1, “Tech Smart: making discerning technology choices”, in Multimedia Schools: