Get off that couch, you potato!

charukesi June 22nd, 2005

Language Log writes that British potato farmers want ‘couch potato’ removed from the OED. “The potato industry are fed up with the disservice that ‘couch potato’ does to our product when we have an inherently healthy product,” said Kathryn Race, head of marketing at the British Potato Council, a body set up by the government to run advertising campaigns promoting potato consumption and research issues linked to the vegetable.

What about being ‘in the soup’ - can anything be nourishing for the soul (all you chicken soup - of the book variety - loyalists, what do you say?)
And apple polishing? And related to this, buttering up?
Will the NECC (national egg coordination committee - which promotes the egg as the ‘best square meal in the world’ - take offence at someone being called a ‘bad egg’?
What next? Animal rights activists protesting against ‘pouring cats and dogs’?
And joining hands with pig farmers and the linguists to have ‘bring home the bacon’ removed from the language?

Hey, this is fun… obviously, I could go on and on…

Think of any more?

10 Responses to “Get off that couch, you potato!”

  1. # Gautamon 22 Jun 2005 at 20.59

    this is reagrds your comment on the employment survey..I haven’t seen it in totality…but yes I guess growth is mostly through services sector (BPO, insurance, retail…)

    And Hyderabad is treating me very well :-))

  2. # Adityaon 22 Jun 2005 at 23.32

    Wonderful blog and excellent post. For the sake of pacifying everybody, we might lose the basic concept of language and idiom. Can’t think of any offhand, but will comment again if I do. Cheers.

    PS: ‘jughead’ is demeaning to containers, and so is ‘an empty vessel makes the most noise’, while saying that someone has ‘gone potty’ might offend makers of children’s toilets.

  3. # Ramchion 23 Jun 2005 at 00.04

    “few bad apples” ,”Don’t chicken out” (broiler association in arms now),”scape goat” ..hmm…can’t any right now..very refreshing blog Charu!

  4. # Rhyncuson 23 Jun 2005 at 01.46

    Heck, I would have thought ‘Bring home the Bacon’ would have been a nice marketing slogan for the pig farmers…Yeverybuddy, go, bring home the baykun!!
    Just as onion farmers (are there any?) would love you to ‘know your onions’, though, yes, maize farmers might take offence at all the ‘corn’iness.

  5. # thennavanon 23 Jun 2005 at 01.51

    How ’bout “packed like sardines”? :-)

    Thanks for those comments on mine.

  6. # Charuon 23 Jun 2005 at 08.53

    hey thanks all, keep adding to this list as you think of more… soon we will have no idioms left in the English language! and then we can start making up new ones :)

  7. # Gangadhar Ambation 23 Jun 2005 at 09.03

    Nice post Charu….

  8. # Akshayon 23 Jun 2005 at 12.44

    Nice post as a follow up the ‘pears’ post.

  9. # dreggon 23 Jun 2005 at 17.36

    If I am not a couch potato from now on, what am I then? Its like you work all your life and attain a certain status of being a couch potato and then bam .. they take it away from you.

  10. # Charuon 23 Jun 2005 at 17.45

    Gangadhar, Akshay - thanks… feels good to hear nice things :)
    dregg, I know - if things carry on this way, I will soon have to heave myself up and start working - whats the point in lounging all day on your couch if they wont even grant you that?! :)