couch potato
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Puzzle #171 · November 19, 2025
The phrase couch potato is used to compare a person who spends a lot of time watching television to a potato, due to the vegetable's inert, sedentary nature.
The term was first used by comedian Tom Iacino, a member of a group who called themselves the ‘boob tubers’. A boob tube is a reference to a TV - it presents idiotic (boob) content through the mechanism of a vaccuum tube, which old TV's relied on.
The Reluctant Gourmet explains further here.
The term was first used by comedian Tom Iacino, a member of a group who called themselves the ‘boob tubers’. A boob tube is a reference to a TV - it presents idiotic (boob) content through the mechanism of a vaccuum tube, which old TV's relied on.
The Reluctant Gourmet explains further here.
Puzzle Appearances
The expression couch potato has appeared in 1 puzzle:
- Puzzle #171 on November 19, 2025
Rate of Appearance in English Language Print
Google's Ngram project shows how often a pair of words has appeared in print every year since the 1800's.
Data from Google Books Ngram Viewer. Licensed under CC BY 3.0.
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