Sofa vs Couch

Sometimes a sofa is just a sofa and sometimes, well, sometimes it’s more complicated.  Apparently a couch is not a sofa, but a sofa can be a couch.

It all started with my dad, or rather, someone who knew my dad.  I was on a small six seater, dual prop plane en route from Nantucket to Boston.  It was kind of plane where you have to tell your weight, your true weight, before boarding in order to ensure a safe flight. Turns out the woman next to me knows my dad.  I guess that’s what comes from small island living.  They met at a beauty salon.  My dad, unbeknownst to me, gets his hair cut at a beauty salon.  The woman, a mother of three, was telling me that my dad was informing her of the difference between a sofa and a couch while they were both getting their hair done. How this topic came up in ordinary conversation, I cannot tell you.

She proceeded to explain it to me, as my father has many times before. And I was amazed.  It had never occurred to me that he carried this topic of conversation into the real world.  I always thought it was “shop talk” – things that had to do with his lifetime of work in the furniture accessory business.

Truth be told, I never really got it. What the difference was. No matter how many times, he told me, it just didn’t stick.  Frankly, it just didn’t matter enough to keep hold of the info. I mean who cares, right? But when this total stranger took to heart my dad’s teachings, I felt guilty.  Clearly, I was a lousy daughter if I could not even retain this one clear distinction, sofa vs couch.

So I did a little sample survey when I got home. I wanted to know how many of my friends actually knew what the difference was. No one knew that there was any difference at all.  In fact, several accused my father of making up the distinction.

Want to know? Finding yourself a tiny bit curious? Turns out, it depends who you ask.  My dad would say, with great authority, that a couch has no arms and is not for sitting on, but only to lie down.  A sofa, on the other hand, has arms and a back and is upholstered.  He also believes that a sofa is of higher quality than a couch, though I have yet to find an on-line source that will corroborate this.

Clearly, I have a lot to learn about the etymology of words and about my dad.  Think I will take a seat on a couch, sofa, or bench.  I have a lot of to do.