Words and Their Stories: From Couch Potato to Cabin Fever
21 October 2011
Couch potatoes enjoy watching television
Now, the VOA Special English program WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.
Some unusual words describe how a person spends his or her time. For example, someone who likes to spend a lot of time sitting or lying down while watching television is sometimes called a
couch potato.
A couch is a piece of furniture that people sit on while watching television.
Robert Armstrong, an artist from California, developed the term couch potato in nineteen seventy-six. Several years later, he listed the term as a trademark with the United States government. Mister Armstrong also helped write a funny book about life as a full-time television watcher. It is called the “Official Couch Potato Handbook.”
Couch potatoes enjoy watching television just as
mouse potatoes
enjoy working on computers. A computer mouse is the device that moves the pointer, or cursor, on a computer screen. The description of mouse potato became popular in nineteen ninety-three. American writer Alice Kahn is said to have invented the term to describe young people who spend a lot of time using computers.
Too much time inside the house using a computer or watching television can cause someone to get
cabin fever.
A cabin is a simple house usually built far away from the city. People go to a cabin to relax and enjoy quiet time.
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