channel hopper, n.
Brit. /ˈtʃanlˌ ˌhɒpə/, U.S. /ˈtʃænəl ˌ(h)ɑpər/
[‹ channel n.1 + hopper n.1
In sense 1 after channel-hop v. 1; compare channel-hopping n. 1.]
1. orig. U.S. = channel surfer n.
| 1979 Washington Post 18 Nov. d1/1 ‘Thrill’ Kuziel startled a Monday night channel hopper by predicting victory. 1985 New Yorker 15 Apr. 96 (caption) We never watch anything. We're channel-hoppers. 1994 Toronto Star (Ontario ed.) 2 July k1/5 In the past, channel hoppers only had to worry about accidentally coming across mildly scary things, like a severed head on the news. 2001 Northern Echo (Nexis) 4 Aug. 10 With a host of stations under the MTV name an avid channel hopper can often watch a video and flick through the programmes to find it starting again only seconds later. |
2. Chiefly Brit. Usually with capital initial. A person who travels across the English Channel, esp. frequently or for only a brief visit.
| 1980 Aviation Week & Space Technol. (Nexis) 25 Feb. 35 On the London-Paris route only, British Airways plans to offer a Channel Hopper fare. 1988 Guardian (Nexis) 19 Nov. Many Channel-hoppers say it won't make much difference. ‘Who wants to be stuck in a car on a railway wagon in a tunnel?’ they ask. 2000 Times 28 Dec. i. 21/2 Jean-Michel Hallez, sales director at Galeries Lafayette, said yesterday that a surge in the number of British channel-hoppers would help to lift sales for the crucial pre-Christmas trading period. |