Words and Their Stories: From Couch Potato to Cabin Fever
American terms to describe active and inactive lifestyles.
27 March 2010
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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