couch, sofa, divan

Flint · 05-26-2007, 11:27 PM

which do you have? what are they? why?

Cloud · 05-26-2007, 11:39 PM

I love these little regional language marker oddities. I use couch and sofa, interchangeably. My parents sometimes referred to them as "davenports."

I have a futon.

xoxoxoBruce · 05-27-2007, 12:30 AM

Settee.

Urbane Guerrilla · 05-27-2007, 12:31 AM

It's really a futon with a foldable frame.

Beestie · 05-27-2007, 01:47 AM

I'm not sure what it says about me that not only do I not know the difference between a couch and a sofa but that I have no freaking idea what a divan is but it sure is saying it loudly.

piercehawkeye45 · 05-27-2007, 02:21 AM

Is this just like the soda or pop argument?

Flint · 05-27-2007, 08:44 AM

People are arguing about soda vs. pop? I've seen a map of a national survey on that subject.

The reason I thought of this thread: last night my wife asked me to get a quilt off of "the ottoman" and I said "the footstool?" and it made me think of how my grandmother calls a couch a "divan" ... my wife said that couch to sofa to divan is a hierarchy of fanciness.

And I guess an ottoman is a fancy footstool.

"Davenport?" ... where are your folks from, Cloud?

"Settee" ... I like that one. That gives me a chuckle.

Edit: My wife says "settee" trumps "divan" in the fanciness scale.

Spexxvet · 05-27-2007, 09:13 AM

Couch. And we call an Ottoman a Hassock.

Cloud · 05-27-2007, 09:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flint

"Davenport?" ... where are your folks from, Cloud?

California, by way of Kentucky and Missouri. It might just be an old-fashioned word, rather than a regional variation. they were born in the nineteen-teens.

piercehawkeye45 · 05-27-2007, 05:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flint

People are arguing about soda vs. pop?

Eastern Wisconsin calls it soda and western Wisconsin, Minnesota, and North Dakota call it pop. It has gotten people into some pretty intense arguments. Along with the bubbler/water fountain argument.

I usually stay out of them (I actually call it a drinking fountain) but if you are in the right mood it is fun to instigate it and then watch.

wolf · 05-27-2007, 09:56 AM

I have interchangably, couch/sofa. More often couch, though.

xoxoxoBruce · 05-27-2007, 10:40 AM

Don't forget the late bloomer of the 50's, sectional.

lizzymahoney · 05-27-2007, 10:46 AM

Ah, but sectionals are so, um, done, don't you think?

lol

Sofa sounds nicer than couch. Sofa is mellifluous while couch is guttural. I've used all of these words, but then I've lived in several places.

monster · 05-27-2007, 01:37 PM

settee or sofa. Settee is the main Brit term, I think.

Clodfobble · 05-27-2007, 04:51 PM

Couch, but only if it is three cushions wide--the one that's two cushions wide is a "loveseat."

View Poll Results: couch, sofa, divan ???
couch	15	75.00%
sofa	5	25.00%
divan	0	0%
Voters: 20. You may not vote on this poll

05-26-2007, 11:27 PM	#1
Flint Snowflake Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Dystopia Posts: 13,136	couch, sofa, divan which do you have? what are they? why? __________________ **************** There's a level of facility that everyone needs to accomplish, and from there it's a matter of deciding for yourself how important ultra-facility is to your expression. ... I found, like Joseph Campbell said, if you just follow whatever gives you a little joy or excitement or awe, then you're on the right track. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Terry Bozzio**

05-26-2007, 11:39 PM	#2
Cloud ... Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 8,360	I love these little regional language marker oddities. I use couch and sofa, interchangeably. My parents sometimes referred to them as "davenports." I have a futon. __________________ "Guard your honor. Let your reputation fall where it will. And outlive the bastards!"

05-27-2007, 12:30 AM	#3
xoxoxoBruce The future is unwritten Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 71,105	Settee. __________________ The descent of man ~ Nixon, Friedman, Reagan, Trump.

05-27-2007, 12:31 AM	#4
Urbane Guerrilla Person who doesn't update the user title Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Southern California Posts: 6,674	It's really a futon with a foldable frame. __________________ Wanna stop school shootings? End Gun-Free Zones, of course.

05-27-2007, 01:47 AM	#5
Beestie -◊\|≡·∙■·∙≡\|◊- Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Parts unknown. Posts: 4,081	I'm not sure what it says about me that not only do I not know the difference between a couch and a sofa but that I have no freaking idea what a divan is but it sure is saying it loudly. __________________ ♠ ♥ ♣ ♦

05-27-2007, 02:21 AM	#6
piercehawkeye45 Franklin Pierce Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Minnesota Posts: 3,695	Is this just like the soda or pop argument?

05-27-2007, 08:44 AM	#7
Flint Snowflake Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Dystopia Posts: 13,136	People are arguing about soda vs. pop? I've seen a map of a national survey on that subject. The reason I thought of this thread: last night my wife asked me to get a quilt off of "the ottoman" and I said "the footstool?" and it made me think of how my grandmother calls a couch a "divan" ... my wife said that couch to sofa to divan is a hierarchy of fanciness. And I guess an ottoman is a fancy footstool. "Davenport?" ... where are your folks from, Cloud? "Settee" ... I like that one. That gives me a chuckle. Edit: My wife says "settee" trumps "divan" in the fanciness scale. __________________ **************** There's a level of facility that everyone needs to accomplish, and from there it's a matter of deciding for yourself how important ultra-facility is to your expression. ... I found, like Joseph Campbell said, if you just follow whatever gives you a little joy or excitement or awe, then you're on the right track. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Terry Bozzio** Last edited by Flint; 05-27-2007 at 08:51 AM.

05-27-2007, 09:13 AM	#8
Spexxvet Makes some feel uncomfortable Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 10,346	Couch. And we call an Ottoman a Hassock. __________________ "I'm certainly free, nay compelled, to spread the gospel of Spex. " - xoxoxoBruce

05-27-2007, 09:56 AM	#11
wolf lobber of scimitars Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Phila Burbs Posts: 20,774	I have interchangably, couch/sofa. More often couch, though. __________________ wolf eht htiw og "Conspiracies are the norm, not the exception." --G. Edward Griffin The Creature from Jekyll Island High Priestess of the Church of the Whale Penis

05-27-2007, 10:40 AM	#12
xoxoxoBruce The future is unwritten Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 71,105	Don't forget the late bloomer of the 50's, sectional. __________________ The descent of man ~ Nixon, Friedman, Reagan, Trump.

05-27-2007, 10:46 AM	#13
lizzymahoney Major Inhabitant Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 124	Ah, but sectionals are so, um, done, don't you think? lol Sofa sounds nicer than couch. Sofa is mellifluous while couch is guttural. I've used all of these words, but then I've lived in several places.

05-27-2007, 01:37 PM	#14
monster I hear them call the tide Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Perpetual Chaos Posts: 30,852	settee or sofa. Settee is the main Brit term, I think. __________________ The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity Amelia Earhart

05-27-2007, 04:51 PM	#15
Clodfobble UNDER CONDITIONAL MITIGATION Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 20,012	Couch, but only if it is three cushions wide--the one that's two cushions wide is a "loveseat."

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