bench jockey

(colloquial, idiomatic, chiefly, US) A person who watches sports on television, typically American football, who often verbally suggests plays or critiques the players and coaches.

A benchinger is someone who habitually benches their romantic prospects — keeping multiple people on the sideline with just enough attention to maintain interest while never actually committing to any of them. The benchinger is strategic. They know exactly how much to text, when to resurface after going quiet, and how to deliver just enough warmth to stop you from moving on. They're not necessarily malicious — sometimes they're just emotionally avoidant or perpetually indecisive — but the impact on the people they bench is the same: stuck, confused, and waiting for something that's not coming.

(slang) The pilot of a jet fighter aircraft.

In consulting, agencies and tech, the state of being formally employed and billable but not currently staffed on a client project — "on the bench" between engagements. Bench-warming can last days or months and is usually spent on internal training, sales support or pitch decks, while the employee anxiously watches utilisation dashboards and worries about being first out in the next round of cuts. The term borrows from American sports, where a "bench warmer" is a player who rarely gets on the field. Long bench time is often a leading indicator of layoffs at professional-services firms.

(UK, slang, pejorative) An alcoholic.