Thread: A little question

Could you tell me what "a couch potato" mean? And another question. Is this phrase really used in English language?

A couch potato is a lazy person who spends most of their free time sitting on a couch watching TV, and yes it is a common expression in English.

Also "spud" is used in place of "couch potato" (spud is slang for potato).
"He's a real spud." (ie lazy, a couch potato)
"Don't be such a spud!" (don't be lazy like a couch potato)
"Couch potato" is mildly insulting.

Originally Posted by Helen

Could you tell me what "a couch potato" mean? And another question. Is this phrase really used in English language?

ABBY Lingvo выдал мне следующее:
couch potato разг. домосед
Syn: stay-at-home, homebody

So can I say: "I bought 2 pounds of spud yesterday"?

Originally Posted by chubby

So can I say: "I bought 2 pounds of spud yesterday"?

To me that sounds really stupid and you'd probably get one of those "what are you talking about" looks. Potato sounds much better at least to me.

Although that probably depends where your at. The south part of the US calls potatoes "taders" (sp?) or something. So calling them potatoes might seem stupid to them. Then again I'm from the north and the farthest south I've been was Missouri (and everyone there called them taders, hell even the signs said taders )

spud= singular
spuds= plural
"I bought 2 pounds of spuds yesterday."
Tater is also slang (southern US) for potato but is not used as a substitute for "couch potato". Spud and tater are both used in advertising potatoes. Spud is used in advertising the state of Idaho, there is even an "Idaho Spud" candy bar that looks like a potato and comes in a package that looks like a bag of potatoes!

'Spuds' is a perfectly normal British substitute for 'potatoes'.

Originally Posted by Alexander

ABBY Lingvo выдал мне следующее:
couch potato разг. домосед
Syn: stay-at-home, homebody

I saw, but I think, Russian language hasn't such expression. Similar words maybe are but they don't reproduce this meaning in the full measure