Word.ws English Dictionary

jiggle television

jiggle television noun: the gratuitous use of scantily clad women to appeal to television audiences.

Noun

jiggle television (uncountable)

  1. The gratuitous use of scantily clad women to appeal to television audiences.
    • It's hard to believe that in these days of X-rated motels, jiggle television, and sexual relief through vending machines . . . that some women can be sexually deprived, but it's true.1981, Phyllis Diller, The joys of aging--and how to avoid them: can sex keep you young?, →ISBN
    • For Paul Klein, as astute an observer as there was inside television, the defining programming trend of the time was sex, particularly in the form of "jiggle television."2003, Josh Ozersky, Archie Bunker's America: TV in an Era of Change, 1968-1978, →ISBN
    Synonyms:
    jiggle TV

Examples of jiggle television in a sentence

  • "Classic jiggle television," he explained as he cupped his hands to create a platform for her foot.2004, Kelsey Roberts, Bedside Manner: The Landry Brothers, →ISBN, page 88:
  • Alexander worries about unisex bathrooms and jiggle television.2013, Robert B. Parker, The Widening Gyre, →ISBN:

Synonyms of jiggle television

Origin of jiggle television

Coined by Paul Klein in the 1970s to criticize the strategy of the ABC television network under Fred Silverman; three successful series on ABC at the time - Charlie's Angels, Wonder Woman, and Three's Company - were described as having spearheaded this term.

Questions about jiggle television

What does jiggle television mean?
Jiggle television means the gratuitous use of scantily clad women to appeal to television audiences.
How do you use jiggle television in a sentence?
"Classic jiggle television," he explained as he cupped his hands to create a platform for her foot.
What part of speech is jiggle television?
Jiggle television is a noun.

Words near jiggle television in the dictionary

  1. jiggle
  2. jiggle key
  3. jiggle keys
  4. jiggle mode
  5. jiggle physics
  6. jiggle television
  7. jiggle TV
  8. jiggled
  9. jiggler
  10. jiggler key
  11. jiggler keys

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: jiggle television (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “jiggle television.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/jiggle_television. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.