Designers Cash in on Jump the Couch craze

At least one designer over at CafePress is jumping on the "Jump the Couch" bandwagon. The folks at Scarebaby Design (http://www.cafepress.com/scarebaby/1082673) are offering an array of Valentine's gifts featuring the trendy phrase. Thongs, teddy bears, and ceramics, as well as the usual t-shirts, hoodies and baby bibs, all bear colorful cartoon images of folks jumping on a sofa, with the words "I'd Jump the Couch for You!" The designs are appropriate for Valentine's Day or just for anyone who cares to sport the amusing interpretation of this year's #1 slang.

It was when Tom Cruise jumped on Oprah's couch - to declare his love for Katie Holmes - that the slang phrase was born. And now that phrase, jumping the couch, has been named the slang term of the year by the editors of the Historical Dictionary of American Slang. That dictionary defines the term as meaning to exhibit "strange or frenetic behavior". "Jump the couch" has since appeared in The New York Times, The Dallas Morning News, and blogs around the world.

Now it's being applied to apparel and mugs by the enterprising designers at Scarebaby Design. They hope to restore it to its original meaning: as a declaration of love. Their main website can be found at scarebaby.com.