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casting couch

American  
[kas-ting kouch, kah-sting] / ˈkæs tɪŋ ˌkaʊtʃ, ˈkɑ stɪŋ /

noun

Informal.

  1. a couch in the office of a casting director, supposedly used with actors or actresses who are promised roles in exchange for sexual favors.

  2. the supposed practice of casting actors or actresses in exchange for sexual favors.

    young women who have suffered the casting couch.
casting couch British  

noun

  1. informal a couch on which a casting director is said to seduce women seeking a part in a film or play

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of casting couch

First recorded in 1930–35

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.