A Sofa, a Couch and a Couch Potato!
If someone playfully called you a 'couch potato', you may probably laugh it off or take exception to it especially if you are not one. Used quite often in matters concerning physical health and fitness, self-esteem and confidence etc. the term may seem like a silly expression but it's quite interesting to get to know the background to it.Usually the case with many terms and terminology is the fact that the exact time-line may be hard to pinpoint but in this case, the exact date and the context in which it appeared is a verifiable fact. The person who used it for the very first time while referring to a friend in a phone call is Tom Lacino; he states that the phrase was coined as a one-off, casual reference to someone who was lazing around on the couch, probably watching TV. In print, the phrase appeared in a LA Times article in 1979 while describing a parade that was televised for public viewing; in a casual reference those watching the parade on TV were referred to as 'couch potatoes'. Other than the reason that it was a rather funny way to describe someone watching television during the 1970s which was considered at that time a 'foolish pursuit', there seems to be simply no other reasoning behind it.
But it's been around for over four decades and is still very much in use!In reality, at the end of a hard day's activity most people head home and the first thing they do is switch on the television and sprawl out on their sofa or couch; may be just a case of 'unwinding' or letting the mind go into 'random thought mode' without actually paying attention to what is being viewed.Having put aside the term 'couch potato', let's see what we can put together SOFA BED defining a sofa and a couch.Both terms are used interchangeably and it's quite possible that it is used differently from region to region. However, some people insist that there is a difference between the two.The word 'sofa' is thought to originate from the Arabic 'suffah' which describes a bench spread over with blankets and cushions. The word 'couch' is taken from the French 'couche' denoting a piece of furniture used for lying or sleeping but without any arms. It was highly popular during the Victorian period and used more often in reference to women who felt faint and rested on the 'fainting couche; the tight corsets worn by women limiting their breathing ability required that they rest on these couches at social gatherings and events.
Apart from terminology, there seems to be no defining difference between a couch and a sofa; they come from different regions, are used for different purposes and connote different functions, looks, sizes and styles.
