change the channel
(chiefly, Canada, idiomatic) To redirect someone’s attention.
Seen in the wild
Saw this on television when I was old enough to not be scared. But that weird ‘70s chaos was so unsettling I had to change the channel.
What’s shit show this is and we can’t even change the channel.
Whenever they pout that ex-governor John Kasich on MS NOW, I immediately change the channel. He's supposed to represent a "reasonable" Republican, but he always ends up sane-washing the crazy.
I never thought this character was funny and I would always change the channel when he came on.
help im trying to change the channel but its all armand legg
Definitions
(chiefly, Canada, idiomatic) To redirect someone’s attention.
Repeated attempts to "change the channel" to pocketbook issues that traditionally favor Democratic candidates have flopped.
“Saw this on television when I was old enough to not be scared. But that weird ‘70s chaos was so unsettling I had to change the channel.”
— Bluesky· May 2026“What’s shit show this is and we can’t even change the channel.”
— Bluesky· May 2026“Whenever they pout that ex-governor John Kasich on MS NOW, I immediately change the channel. He's supposed to represent a "reasonable" Republican, but he always ends up sane-washing the crazy.”
— Bluesky· May 2026“I never thought this character was funny and I would always change the channel when he came on.”
— Bluesky· May 2026“help im trying to change the channel but its all armand legg”
— Bluesky· May 2026
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Regional slang from around the English-speaking world — British, Australian, Irish, Caribbean, Nigerian, Filipino, AAVE, and the hyphenated-English dialects that make the internet sound local.
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Other words near "change the channel" (C)
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Related terms
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Semantically related
- channel-hopping66%
(British, informal) that travels across the English Channel.
- change65%
(transitive, ergative) To make something into something else.
- change65%
(intransitive) To become something different.
- change63%
(transitive) To replace.
- channel stopper58%
(slang) A television broadcast that causes the viewer to stop flipping through channels with their remote control and watch it.