couch
Related to couch: coach
couch (something) in (something)
To convey something very deliberately by saying it in a particular way or with particular wording. That professor always manages to couch her criticism in kind words, so I'm never too upset by her negative feedback.
See also: couch
couch potato
Someone who habitually engages in sedentary activities, usually understood as frequently watching television. Lisa wants to date a man who loves to travel and explore, not a couch potato who watches television all the time.
See also: couch, potato
on the couch
In receipt of psychoanalysis or emotional or psychological therapy, counseling, or treatment. (In such settings, the patient often reclines on a couch while speaking to the mental health professional.) Often used to describe a psychoanalytic evaluation or study of a particular person or cultural entity. His new book aims to put the American Midwest on the couch, exploring what makes people from that region so distinct in their mannerisms, behaviors, and emotional identities.
See also: couch, on
the casting couch
A phenomenon in which prospective employees (typically females) are propositioned for sexual favors in exchange for promised employment or career advancement. The practice is most associated with the entertainment industry, and the term refers to the actual piece of furniture in a casting director's office where such encounters may occur. According to many accounts, the casting couch is alive and well in Hollywood.
See also: casting, couch
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
couch potato
a lazy individual, addicted to television-watching. All he ever does is watch TV; he's become a real couch potato. Couch potatoes can tend to become very fat and unhealthy, you know.
See also: couch, potato
couch something in something
to express something in carefully chosen or deceptive words. He tended to couch his explanations in arcane vocabulary. She couched her words in an overly polite manner.
See also: couch
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
a couch potato
INFORMALCOMMON If someone is a couch potato, they are lazy and spend most of their time sitting, watching television. Most evenings they sit, like a pair of couch potatoes in front of television. Most of these people are junk-food eating couch potatoes. Note: This expression is a complicated pun based on the American slang term `boob tube' meaning the TV, and the fact that a potato is a variety of tuber or root vegetable.
See also: couch, potato
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.
couch potato
someone who watches a lot of television, eats junk food, and takes little or no physical exercise. informalCouch potato was a humorous American coinage using the image of a person with the physical shape of a potato slouching on a sofa or couch. Originally, the phrase relied on a pun with tuber in the slang term boob tuber , which referred to someone devoted to watching the boob tube or television.
See also: couch, potato
on the couch
undergoing psychoanalysis or psychiatric treatment.See also: couch, on
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
the ˈcasting couch
(informal, humorous) used to refer to a situation in which somebody, especially a woman, agrees to have sex with somebody else in order to get work in a film/movie, TV programme, etc: the Hollywood casting couch for starletsSee also: casting, couch
a ˈcouch poˌtato
(informal, disapproving) a person who spends a lot of time sitting and watching televisionSee also: couch, potato
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
casting couch
n. a legendary couch found in the offices of casting directors for use in seducing young people by offering them roles. They say the director got his job on the casting couch, too.
See also: casting, couch
couch potato
n. a lazy, do-nothing television watcher. (see also sofa spud.) If there was a prize for the best couch potato, my husband would win it.
See also: couch, potato
couch-doctor
and couch-turkey n. a psychiatrist; a psychoanalyst. I finally walked out on my couch-doctor. Now I’m getting it all together. I bought three new cars for that couch-turkey! Now I’m paying for his kid’s college!
couch-turkey
verbSee couch-doctor
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
couch potato
A physically lazy individual who prefers watching television to other leisure activities. This slangy expression, alluding to an inert object (potato) sitting on a sofa, was invented in the 1970s and quickly gained currency. It also has been suggested that the term is a play on boob tube (slang for television set), since a potato is a tuber. With the proliferation of remote-control devices, the dedicated television addict did not even need to get up to change programs or adjust the volume. The cliché is occasionally used more broadly as well, for anyone who is basically indolent.
See also: couch, potato
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
- couch (something) in (something)
- couch in
- reckon (someone or something) as (someone or something)
- reckon as
- (one) ain't particular
- ain't particular
- particular
- receive as
- receive as (something)
- always the bridesmaid