the idiot box

the idiot box

slang A television set, or television in general. We need to start encouraging our children to play outside, instead of just spending hours in front of the idiot box. It saddens me that people would rather watch the idiot box than explore the world around them.
See also: box, idiot
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

idiot box

A television set, as in There they sit in front of the idiot box, hour after hour. This slangy and pejorative expression dates from about 1960.
See also: box, idiot
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

idiot box

n. a television set. You spend too much time watching the idiot box.
See also: box, idiot
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions

idiot box

A television set. The term dates from about 1950 and obviously is a derogatory take on the medium of television. For example, “It’s a shame her kids have no supervision and just sit, hour after hour, in front of the idiot box.”
See also: box, idiot
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
See also:
  • idiot box
  • telly
  • have square eyes
  • homework
  • do (one's) homework
  • do your homework
  • jan
  • not happy, Jan
  • streaming service
  • be on (the) air
References in periodicals archive
For example, spending longer time in front of the idiot box could affect the longevity and heart health of an individual more than browsing the net at desk.
It is too hot to go outside and play in the park and there is nothing to watch on the idiot box either.
Over the forthcoming 100 or so hours, commentators old and new will grace the numerous panel discussions on the idiot box, treating the audience to mothballed phrases and sentences that are ceremonially brought out of their hibernation every five years.
It's great to see the former CBBC gang in a 9.30pm slot with this wonderful silliness, which actually makes more sense than a lot of comedy shows that make it onto the idiot box these days.
To people of an older generation, a landline, like the TV (read the idiot box), was the heart and hearth of the home, an instrument that brought the family together, a gadget by which parents could still keep an eye on their children and know who they were speaking to.
AI has made its way to the idiot box, we are now in the third generation of Oled Tv s and you can control your smart gadgets from the comfort of your TV.
A huge percentage of adolescents have started developing unhealthy habits in front of the idiot box. It has been proven that the more time a person spends in watching television, the sooner they are going to die.
As the first match between Russia and Saudi Arabia starts, the onlookers are glued to the idiot box, cheers and jeers escaping their lips.
The not so lucky resorted to watching Ronchi make short work of Zalmi's bowling attack on their television sets - with one crucial difference: The idiot box interrupted the sweet sound of willow on leather to the degree that was almost perverted.
But he is not likely to stop spreading lies and preaching his hateful narratives and conspiracy theories against alleged detractors of the Miltablishment after he returns to the idiot box. Similarly, Rao Anwar will not get his come-uppance even though he may have to suffer a period of rest and recreation from his onerous duties in the service of his patrons.
No, what I meant was that there's very little on telly that really makes me mad - years spent reviewing the idiot box's myriad outpourings having, for better of worse, instilled in me a kind of unflappable detachment.
THE Bhabhiji Wars of the idiot box just got hotter.
So what's the take home then, for now (a record 55 per cent of Pakistan's population was glued to the idiot box for a Karachi vs Lahore round robin rendezvous, according to one estimate)?
So if we want peace with Pakistan, or perhaps whether we should seek peace, we have no business to talk to Pakistan, but must pay court to these worthies of the idiot box. When they want peace, we must seek peace, and when they declare war, we should go into battle without seeking reason, he wrote.
The idiot box idiots are more interested in attacking Rahul Gandhi for fetching up at the protest by elderly ex-servicemen than the issue.