couch potato a person who takes little or no exercise and watches a lot of television. The term was coined in the US from a pun on boob tube as a slang expression for television; someone given to continuous viewing was a boob tuber, and the cartoonist Robert Armstrong drew the most familiar tuber, a potato, reclining on a couch watching TV. Following this, a club was formed called The Couch Potatoes, and the name was later registered as a trademark. (See also mouse potato at mouse.)

couch po·ta·to / ˈkouch/ • n. inf. a person who spends little or no time exercising and a great deal of time watching television.