Couch potato word of

The phrase «couch potato» may sound funny to you. You might picture a potato lying on a couch. While it’s not actually a potato, this expression involves a couch.

A couch potato is someone who spends most of the day lying on the couch. People use the expression to indicate someone is lazy. Some people say the term may be offensive. You should use it with people close to you or people who don’t get easily offended.

Let’s take a deeper look at this phrase.

If you look for the meaning of this phrase in the dictionary, you will find the expression is used to indicate:

• A chronic television viewer
• A lazy and inactive person
• Someone who doesn’t like to be physically active
• Someone who does not exercise but watches a lot of television
• An idler and a layabout

Expanding The Idea

Sedentary lifestyles can cause health problems. People in developed countries often live this lifestyle. Nowadays, we spend our time doing activities that don’t require physical effort. Internet apps are fighting for our time. Most of the platforms want us to spend our time watching their content.

Children and teenagers are the most affected. We see now that every kid carries a tablet or telephone everywhere they go. They get so caught up in their virtual life that they forget to do basic things.

Parents struggle to have their kids take a shower. Some people forget to shower. You will see people using electronics during mealtime.

In the end, this lifestyle damages our society. There will be a loss of function in some parts of your body. You are likely to gain weight as well.

The Origin Of The Phrase «Couch Potato»

This phrase is an idiomatic expression. We know this idiom is not very old because it is related to watching television.

It first appeared in 1979 in the United States of America. The newspaper Los Angeles Times released an article using the phrase «…and the Couch Potatoes who will be lying on couches watching television as they are towed toward the parade route.»

A comic artist named Robert Armstrong is credited with releasing a cartoon that made the phrase famous. In 1979, Armstrong drew two lazy characters he called «Couch Potatoes.»

After that, the phrase became popular. People started using it to name someone who spends lots of time watching television. Watching too much TV makes people gain weight. Making them look like potatoes.

There’s another version of the origin of this idiom. This version is more popular. You just imagine a person sitting on a couch. This person is also watching television and eating potato chips. This person is a «couch potato.»

Frequently Asked Questions

Is «Couch Potato» A Slang Word?

Yes, this term is considered slang. The expression couch potato is informal. You should only use it when you talk to friends or family members.

Is The Expression «Couch Potato» Offensive?

Any person will have an adverse reaction if you call them a «couch potato.» This expression is a criticism of someone’s lifestyle.

Some people argue that potatoes are healthy. There have been protests against changing the word potato from this idiom. People claim we should use the term «couch slouch» instead.

What Is The Plural Form For Couch Potato?

The plural form would be «couch potatoes.»

Why Is Being «A Couch Potato» Bad?

Here are some of the health issues related to being a couch potato:

• Obesity
• High blood pressure
• Heart failure
• High blood sugar

Is «You Are A Couch Potato» A Metaphor?

You can use it as a metaphor when you see someone who feels like doing nothing on the weekend. You could say that person is a couch potato. But this person could be very active during weekdays. Maybe they are just resting after a long week.

What Is An «Active Couch Potato?»

An active couch potato is a person who is active 20% of their day. But this person spends the rest of the day sitting. This is very similar to being a couch potato. If you spend more than six hours being inactive, you won’t lose much fat. Your body will not turn fat into energy after more than 4 hours of sitting down.

What Can I Do To Stop Being A Couch Potato?

1. The First Thing You Need To Do Is Accept You Are Living A Lazy Life

Acceptance is the first step to begin the adjustment.

1. Understand This Is A Process, And It Takes Time.

On some days, you may not feel like exercising. That’s normal, and it will take time before you do it enthusiastically.

1. Find Your Motivation

This could be your health or your appearance. Setting a goal is very important.

1. Choose A Time In The Day That Is Convenient For Your Schedule

Make sure you exercise at a time that fits your daily schedule. People claim the morning is the best time.

1. Set A Daily Walking Goal

Counting your steps can be beneficial.

1. The Place Doesn’t Matter.

Whether you exercise at home or at the gym doesn’t matter. The important thing is getting it done.

1. You Can Do Circuits Exercises

Some of the options you have are:

1. High-intensity interval training (HIIT)
2. Circuit training
3. Tabata workout
4. TV exercising
5. Household chores

1. Set Sleep Schedules

Sleeping is a vital part of the exercising routine. Make sure you set a sleep schedule to have a good rest.

1. Make Small Changes

There are small things you can change in your life. These changes can get you more movement:

1. Instead of taking the elevator, take the stairs.
2. Get off the public transportation a few stops away from your destination.
3. Park far away from your destination.

1. Prepare Ahead Of Time

Hours before your exercise, prepare your clothes and drinks.

1. Picture Your Older Self

This helps you to create an image of your future. You might not like it. This could motivate you to make changes in your life.

1. Create A Reward System That Motivates You To Work Out.

You could give yourself rewards after achieving certain goals. What you could do:

1. An immediate reward after a workout
2. Postpone a desire until you end your routine

Synonyms And Other Similar Expressions

Here’s a list of other expressions that indicate the same meaning:

• Couch slouch
• TV viewer
• Bystander
• Goof-off
• Idler
• Inactive person
• Laggard
• Lazy person
• Lazy-bones
• Loafer
• Lotus-eater
• Lounger
• Slouch
• Sluggard
• Sofa spud
• Spud
• Video-gazer
• Inert

Other Terms Related To The Expression

Here are other terms that are often related to the expression. Even though we only say «couch potato,» there are other words that come to mind.

1. Television

People usually sit in their couches to watch TV. This usually happens for a long period of time.

1. Sofa

Couches and sofas are related. Both are pieces of furniture. Both go located in the living room. They are usually positioned in front of the TV.

1. Lazy

This is related to the perception of the people. Couch potatoes are considered to be lazy.

1. Loaf

Because people usually eat while watching TV. This happens especially when spending many hours watching TV.

1. Leisure

Watching TV or lying down is considered leisure. People do this when they don’t have anything to do after work or after finishing their house chores. Couch potatoes are people with no pending duties.

Other Idioms

• Caught Between A Rock And A Hard Place
• Clear As Mud
• Clouds On The Horizon

Example Sentences Using The Phrase

1. My mom is a great couch potato; she can watch TV 24 hours a day.
2. Some people debate whether couch potatoes are less intelligent than the rest.
3. My mom always tells me, «don’t be a couch potato. Go outside and play.»
4. In the past year, I have become a couch potato. The gym is calling me right now.
5. I’ve heard my neighbor argue, «You are such a couch potato.». How can you dream about being slim? «You can only watch television and eat all the time.»
6. It never occurred to me that people would call me a couch potato; I think I am addicted to television now.
7. Get a job and make money, don’t lie around like a couch potato. You’re an adult now.
8. If you want to dream about Michelle, stop being a couch potato.

Bottom Line

The phrase «couch potato» is used when you want to call someone lazy. This is an expression you should use in informal settings. You should use it with friends and family members because it can be perceived negatively. Some people don’t like to be called a «couch potato.»

The phrase started as slang. It first appeared around 1979. A cartoon made it mainstream. It’s been used ever since. People have many questions about this expression. Some people don’t know how to use it in conversations.

There are many ways to stop being a couch potato. It’s up to you to get out of this lifestyle. Your health could be compromised if you are sedentary. The term «active couch potato» refers to someone who visits the gym, then spends the rest of the day relaxing.

It is good to learn new idioms every day. This will expand your vocabulary and understanding. There are many things to remember before using an idiom. You must be mindful of how other people react to the things you say. The main takeaway here is that couch potato is not a polite expression.

Дословный перевод

Диванная картофелина.

Смысловое значение

Домосед. A couch potato можно назвать тех, кто проводит много времени, сидя на диване и смотря телевизор. Ужасно ленивый человек.

Примеры

1) After my uncle retired from his job, he became a couch potato. – После того как мой дядя ушел с работы, он стал домоседом.

2) Maybe he got tired of being a couch potato.- Может, ему надоело быть домоседом.

3) Cold winter weather’s no reason to be a couch potato. – Прохладная погода – это не оправдание для лежебок.

Другие идиомы на английском языке

OED

The Oxford English Dictionary says:

couch potato n. [potato apparently punningly after (boob-)tuber = television addict and vegetable tuber, but perhaps simply by association with vegetable n. 2] slang (orig. U.S.) a person who spends leisure time passively or idly sitting around, esp. watching television or videotapes.

1979 Los Angeles Times (California Record ed.) 28 Dec. iv. 1/6 The Humboldt State Marching Lumberjacks..and the Couch Potatoes who will be lying on couches watching television as they are towed toward the parade route.

NPDSUE

The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English (2008) says:

couch potato noun a person who habitually idles, watching television. Possibly a pun on ‘boob-tuber’ (a television addict) and a ‘potato’ as a ‘tuber’; it may also play on VEGETABLE (a person with an undemanding existence); the ‘couch’, of course, is where the potato is planted. One of the very few slang words or phrases where it is seemingly possible to trace the coining; in July 1976 a group of friends in California coined the term, which was first used in commerce in 1977 and then hit the big time with the Official Couch Potato Handbook (1983) US, 1976

ADS-L

Here’s the origin according to posts made on the American Dialect Society mailing list.

First from Barry Popik:

COUCH POTATOES

OED has «couch potato» from 1979.
USPTO records show it was trademarked by Robert Armstrong of Dixon, CA,
with first use of July 15, 1976, and first use in commerce of April 20, 1977.

Larry Horn concurred:

Fer sher.

Robert was a fellow-traveller of R. Crumb and his Cheap Suit
Serenaders, a somewhat funky string band. They all holed up in a
nice country house in Sonoma County at the time, and Robert lived off
the royalties of «couch potato» and silk-screened T-shirts for a
while back then. Some of the T-shirts featured a laid-back spud qua
couch potato, i.e. a «tuber». Them was the days.

Finally from A. Allan:

The origin of «couch potato» is explained in detail in a book to be published
in October by Houghton Mifflin:

«Predicting New Words: The Secrets of Their Success» by Allan Metcalf. Here
is a pertinent excerpt:

. . . Here’s how it chanced to happen, according to an illustrated history
by two of the perpetrators themselves, «Elders» Jack Mingo and Robert
Armstrong, in The Official Couch Potato Handbook (1983). The saga began in
the 1960s with nine Southern Californians who got together on Thursday nights
to watch Lost in Space. Calling themselves the «Lost in Space Club,» they
soon began meeting to watch other television shows as well. «One of them,»
the story continues, «known only as ‘The Hallidonian,’ soon made the
discovery that any day, any time was all right for prolonged, indiscriminate
TV viewing.»

Then, supposedly on July 15, 1976, another of the nine «Elders,» Tom
Iacino, uttered the term couch potato in making a phone call to The
Hallidonian. The illustrated history depicts the moment: «Hi, Annie Jo—Can I
speak to the ‘couch potato’?» asks Iacino’s telephone voice, to which Annie
Jo responds «The wha?» while across the room the Hallidonian relaxes on his
couch, watching The Flintstones. . .

08 February 2016 в 12:47, автор Софья Михалева

Перевод: некто ведущий пассивный, малоподвижный, инертный образ жизни перед экраном телевизора; бездельник, увалень, лентяй, тунеядец, тюлень, лежебока, сидень, домосед

Remember, what does ‘retirement’ mean? It doesn’t mean that you’re a couch potato. Leisure is not the same thing as rest. If you’re bicycling five miles a day, that’s leisure, but it certainly takes a lot of effort. (Robert Fogel)

Происхождение:

Идиома “couch potato” появилась в повседневном английском с легкой руки писателя Джека Минго, который опубликовал в 1979 году сборник юмористических очерков “The Official Couch Potato Handbook” – “Официальное руководство по безделью”. В русском мы тоже говорим о ком-то, кто мало двигается, ничем не интересуется и не проявляет никакой активности, что он ведет “овощной” или “растительный” образ жизни. Идиома пришлась по вкусу американским маркетологам, ведь жители США тогда переживали первою волну маниакального увлечения здоровым образом жизни, и “couch potato” – дословно “диванная картофелина” – стал универсальным символом бездеятельного и безынициативного человека, поглощающего фастфуд, днями напролет тупо впялившись в экран телевизора.

Проверьте себя:

I think I’m turning into a couch potato because all I want is

1. to refurnish my living room.
2. to stay in and just watch a DVD with a bowl of crisps.
3. to indulge in cooking for my family.

Правильный ответ на наш предыдущий тест – вариант С.

C

couch potato

Meaning | Definition

• a chronic television viewer
• very lazy person
• physically less active
• somebody who takes no exercise but watches a lot of television
• a layabout and Idler

Example Sentences

1. My younger sister is a great couch potato; she can watch TV 24 hours a day.
2. It is a matter of debate if couch potatoes are less intelligent than their brethren.
3. My mom always says me that don’t be a couch potato go outside and play.
4. I spoiled my body being a couch potato I am going to join the gym right now.
5. I’ve heard my neighbour couple arguing, “You are such a couch potato how can you dream about being slim you can only eat and watch television all the time.”
6. I never imagined that people will call me a couch potato; I think I am addicted to the television now.
7. My brother is so lazy that he does nothing whole day, but sits on the couch and watch television and now I call him couch potato.
8. Get up go find a job and start earn something now, don’t lie around like a couch potato, you’ve grown up now.
9. Michelle is a gymnast and you are a couch potato don’t dream about her.

Origin

This idiomatic expression is supposed to be originated in 1970’s in America by a comic artist who drew two idle, inactive and lazy characters he named them “Couch Potatoes” since then this phrase became very popular to call names someone who spends lots of time watching television then being habitual of TV they put on weight and looks more like a potato.

Another idea of the origin of this idiom which made it more popular is that imagine a person sitting on a couch (sofa) watching television eating potato chips. Now shorten this description into two words, “couch potato.”

Potato