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
-
Tina Fey will host the inaugural episode of Saturday Night Live UK on March 21, with English band Wet Leg as the musical guest, broadcaster Sky TV confirmed Monday.—
Hanna Wickes,
Charlotte Observer,
18 Mar. 2026
-
Saturday Night Live is launching a British version, and Tina Fey — one of the franchise’s most iconic alumni — will host the premiere episode on Sky TV.—
Hanna Wickes,
Miami Herald,
17 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Iranian state television later said Naeini was killed in an airstrike.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
21 Mar. 2026
-
The reality television show that made the family a household name has been off the air for over a decade, but the family managed to foray the cancellation of the original series into TLC spin-offs, brand deals, and social media fame.—
Tiana Lowe Doescher,
The Washington Examiner,
20 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Idiot box.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/idiot%20box. Accessed 23 Mar. 2026.
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