as in TV
an electronic device with a screen and speakers that reproduces images and sound
she declared that she wouldn't have an idiot box in her home
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Recent Examples of idiot box
Writers strove to position themselves as more cynical than the idiot box that knew itself to be an idiot box.
—
Lauren Michele Jackson, The New Yorker, 27 Feb. 2025
Column: Streamers profited when ‘the idiot box’ became art.
—Mary McNamara, Los Angeles Times, 11 Jan. 2024
All that, somehow, without Truman himself ever switching on the idiot box.
—Armond White, National Review, 2 Aug. 2023
But the idiot box has also inspired arguably his worst projects, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and The Newsroom, sanctimonious and stupefyingly self-serious accounts of the woes of content creation.
—Jason Bailey, Vulture, 21 Dec. 2021
All those childhood years in front of the idiot box could now be considered research — a lifetime of training, cleverly disguised as sloth.
—Washington Post, 29 Dec. 2020
Lauren Michele Jackson, The New Yorker, 27 Feb. 2025
Column: Streamers profited when ‘the idiot box’ became art.
—Mary McNamara, Los Angeles Times, 11 Jan. 2024
All that, somehow, without Truman himself ever switching on the idiot box.
—Armond White, National Review, 2 Aug. 2023
But the idiot box has also inspired arguably his worst projects, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and The Newsroom, sanctimonious and stupefyingly self-serious accounts of the woes of content creation.
—Jason Bailey, Vulture, 21 Dec. 2021
All those childhood years in front of the idiot box could now be considered research — a lifetime of training, cleverly disguised as sloth.
—Washington Post, 29 Dec. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for idiot box
Noun
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Although authorities have not released many details to the public, WXIA-TV also reported that friends said her husband, who was out of state, was the one who reported her missing.—
Charna Flam,
PEOPLE,
20 Oct. 2025
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Its cable properties are increasingly irrelevant in the market, and networks like Logo, MTV and TV Land have been starved of new content for years.—
Brian Steinberg,
Variety,
20 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Megan Angelo is the author of Followers and has written about television, film, women, and pop culture, and motherhood for publications including The New York Times, Elle, The Wall Street Journal, Marie Claire, Vogue, Slate, and Romper.—
Megan Angelo,
Glamour,
20 Oct. 2025
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With a decade between each installment of the comedy series, The Comeback has had an unusual presence in the television world.—
Liza Esquibias,
PEOPLE,
20 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Idiot box.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/idiot%20box. Accessed 22 Oct. 2025.
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