Idiom
arm candy
Meaning
An attractive, seemingly romantic companion who accompanies a person in public solely so that one or both of the individuals can gain attention, enhance social status, or create an impression of sexual appeal.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“He brought his new girlfriend to the party as arm candy.”
“She hates being treated like arm candy when they go out.”
“You are more than just arm candy to me.”
“The celebrity did not really know his date, but he brought her along as arm candy to impress the photographers.”
“The politician hired a professional model to serve as arm candy during the high-profile charity dinner to improve his public image.”
“He realizes that his date only invited him to the wedding to be her arm candy for the photos.”
“Many actors attend movie premieres with attractive strangers who act as arm candy to generate more gossip in the magazines.”
“In the superficial world of high-society galas, the wealthy executive treated his stunning companion merely as arm candy to bolster his public image.”
Examples
simple
“He brought his new girlfriend to the party as arm candy.”
“She hates being treated like arm candy when they go out.”
“You are more than just arm candy to me.”
contextual
“The celebrity did not really know his date, but he brought her along as arm candy to impress the photographers.”
“The politician hired a professional model to serve as arm candy during the high-profile charity dinner to improve his public image.”
“He realizes that his date only invited him to the wedding to be her arm candy for the photos.”
“Many actors attend movie premieres with attractive strangers who act as arm candy to generate more gossip in the magazines.”
complex
“In the superficial world of high-society galas, the wealthy executive treated his stunning companion merely as arm candy to bolster his public image.”
Origin
Presumably derived from eye candy. The term has been attested in the US since 1992.
Key words
Related idioms
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