After all, it’s been nearly four decades since the momentous uttering. Of course, perhaps he simply forgot his reasoning. While that is an incredibly convincing and succinct explanation of the origins of the phrase and is repeated in many an etymological dictionary, we feel it is important to note again that when asked if there was any reason he called his friend a couch potato all those years ago, Lacino offered the verbal equivalent of a shrug in response. Since the edible part of a potato plant is known as a “tuber”, it is commonly believed that the phrase “couch potato” was intended as a clever combination of these two concepts. To explain, during the 1970s a popular term for the television was, “the boob tube” which was coined by people who believed watching television was a pursuit only enjoyed by the foolish. His girlfriend answered, and it was just an off-the-top sort of thing when I said, ‘Hey, is the couch potato there?’ She looked over and there he was on the couch, and she started cracking up.”Īlthough Lacino claims that there was no real thought behind the phrase, other than that he thought it was a pretty funny way to describe his friend, linguists have noted that the phrase is actually a rather clever play on words. He stated he coined the phrase during “a phone call to a friend. More specifically, the man who breathed the phrase into existence is Tom Lacino. In regards to the former, the first time the phrase appeared in print was 1979 in an LA Times article where it said, “…and the Couch Potatoes who will be lying on couches watching television as they are towed toward the parade route.” In regards to the latter, according to the man who coined the phrase, he first uttered it during a phone call on July 15, 1976. Unlike most etymologies, we actually know the exact date that the phrase in question was first written down for mass public consumption as well as the exact date it was first spoken out loud. But why is it we compare lazy people to potatoes and why on Earth did some random guy own the trademark rights to such a silly sounding expression? If you want to call someone lazy, a time-honoured way to do so would be to call them a “couch potato”. asks: Why is someone who is lazy called a couch potato?
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