Talk:Behind the sofa

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Article milestones Date Process Result April 10, 2007 Good article nominee Not listed

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The argument keeps arising that sofas are traditionally pressed against the walls of a room, thereby making this phrase rather bizarre. I kind of object to this, as at least anecdotally only about half the households I've encountered have had their sofas pressed against the walls. The rest of the time (including my mother's house in Maine and nearly every TV commercial I've seen in my life), they're in the center of the living room, allowing traffic to pass on all sides. Now, some reference might be made to the debate -- though the debate strikes me as itself rather bizarre to start with. There are no real standards to interior decoration.

Fair enough. 'Tis a good point, and I was never entirely happy with that bit. Angmering 19:37, 2 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Furthermore, many sofas have backs which curve, meaning that even if the top is against a wall, there is often enough space at the bottom for a child to crawl in behind and look around the sofa rather than over the top. --Bonalaw 10:01, 18 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

The phrase has always been closely linked with Doctor Who in my mind, but the earliest reference I can find to "behind the sofa" (as cowering in fear from something) is actually in relation to one journalist's memories of puppet show Sooty (of all things). The article, "SOOTY BEARS ALL! 42 YEARS ON, A PUPPET REGIME STILL RULES OK" was written by Jane Kelly and was published in the Daily Mail on 10 September 1990, two years earlier than the earliest reference in this article. --The Brain of Morbius 06:49, 26 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I'm pretty sure there must be earlier Who-related references than that, but I must confess that when I originally wrote the article I was being a bit lazy and picked two easy ones! I shall go back to the Cuttings Archive site and try and locate an earlier reference than 1990. Stay tuned. Angmering 17:24, 26 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Right, so far I've got a "hiding behind the settee" from 1988 here. I'd rather have a sofa, though. On with the search... Angmering 17:47, 26 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]

This alas is nothing citable, but I remember hiding behind the sofa (and later the French curtains) during the first two Quatermass shows (1953 and 1955 respectively) on the BBC. Signinstranger 21:50, 20 July 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Just to bring this up to date, a couple of weeks ago I found and added a citation for the phrase in relation to Doctor Who dating back to 1973. So that's the earliest published source thus far. Angmering 23:57, 15 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I used to hide behind an armchair during Doctor Who (the sofa was against the wall - not enough room in many UK houses for any other position!) My brother used to hide halfway up the stairs and watch through the bannisters, with strategic retreats upstairs at the most scary parts. :-) This was a long time ago (1st/2nd Doctor), but sadly we were too young to document it anywhere. 16 April 2007.

I'm pretty sure that the first time I heard this expression William Hartnell was still Dr Who, so I think we're fairly safe Britmax 11:57, 19 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I have found an earlier use of the phrase, one which predates Doctor Who. It's from Mary Poppins, believe it or not. The quote goes:

"I wish we were invisible," said Michael, when Mary Poppins had told him that the sight of him was more than any self-respecting person could be expected to stand.

"We shall be," said Jane, "if we go behind the sofa."

In case you're curious, this quote is from page 149 the Scholastic Book Services paperback printing of 1972, and Mary Poppins was originally copywritten in 1934. Orville Eastland (talk) 14:10, 16 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Interesting! I shall try and work it into the article when I get a moment. It's in a slightly different context, mind — they don't seem to be talking about hiding behind the sofa because they're afraid, rather because they don't wish to be seen. Angmering (talk) 16:47, 16 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Although I definitely hid behind the sofa from

This article automatically fails GA criteria on broadness and structure.

• Not thorough enough
• Has no sections, only one big long lead.

IvoShandor 06:02, 10 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]