Cosby sweater

English

Alternative forms

• Bill Cosby sweater

Etymology

A man (Philip Emeagwali) wearing a Cosby sweater.

From the sweaters worn by the character Cliff Huxtable, played by Bill Cosby, on the American sitcom The Cosby Show (1984-1992).

Noun

Cosby sweater (plural Cosby sweaters)

1. An oversized sweater featuring a loud, kitschy pattern.
   • 2006, Joe Kurmaskie, Momentum Is Your Friend: The Metal Cowboy and His Pint-Sized Posse Take on America‎^[1], Breakaway Books, published 2011, →ISBN:

     I taste blood in my mouth while a Japanese gentleman in plastic snowshoes and a colorful Cosby sweater snaps photos of a landscape leveled by forest fires a decade ago.

   • 2012, Brad Getty, Dads Are the Original Hipsters, Chronicle Books, →ISBN, page 19:

     So hipsters, next time you're digging through the racks at the local thrift store for the perfect Cosby sweater for your annually unoriginal ugly Christmas sweater party, remember this…

   • 2013, Chris Rodell, Use All the Crayons!, iUniverse, →ISBN, page 20:

     A guy in a Cosby sweater lamented he didn't bring along some Trivial Pursuit cards.