goggle box
- noun
- /ˈɡɒɡl bɒks/
- Archaic
:
televisor
- They gathered around the goggle box to watch their favorite movie.
Examples
-
After a long day, she loves to relax in front of her goggle box.
-
I'm not turning that goggle-box on.
-
He was excited to watch the football match on his new goggle box.
Synonyms
626
1.0
An electronic device with a screen that receives broadcasts and shows moving pictures and sound
332
1.0
A screen device you use at home to watch shows and films
52
1.4
A machine with a screen that shows moving pictures and sound
43
1.0
A machine with a screen that shows moving pictures and sound
28
7.9
A machine like a TV that shows programs
7
8.1
A television set for watching shows
4
7.2
A television people jokingly call a waste of time
4
8.8
A television set people watch to see shows
1
8.8
A machine at home that shows programs and news
1
2.4
A machine that receives TV signals and shows them on a screen
Surface Forms
Morphology
goggle + box
The compound can be parsed as 'goggle' (to stare) + 'box' (a container), so its meaning 'the box you stare at' (television) is partially inferable from the parts. However, the figurative naming is dialectal and relies on cultural knowledge and a less common verb sense, so the specific reading is not fully predictable for a B1 learner.
Etymology
Goggle box comes from the image of people sitting and staring with wide eyes at a 'box' that shows moving pictures. One popular story says goggle means to stare and box is the television, so the picture of someone wide-eyed in front of the box led to the modern meaning 'television set'.