English question about corner couch

[tomlitilia]

Silly question perhaps, but is there a good English word for each of the the two angled sections of a corner couch? English isn't my first language, and apparently details of furniture are lacking in my vocabulary. I mean a couch like this:

https://slm-assets2.secondlife.com/assets/1890706/lightbox/corner%20couch%20&%20coffeetable.jpg

 

[jomar]

Hello, they are typically called sectional sofas in the USA.

 

[jsmiam]

At least one furniture store calls it a wedge. sounds plausible, and vaguely familiar to me.

The end pieces seem more useful to us erotica writers, though...

EDIT... see later post, i misread the question. wedge is the piece in the corner.

 

[tomlitilia]

At least one furniture store calls it a wedge. sounds plausible, and vaguely familiar to me.

The end pieces seem more useful to us erotica writers, though...

That sounds familiar. Would this work then?
Our guests were sitting on our corner couch with the guys on one wedge and the women on the other.

Hello, they are typically called sectional sofas in the USA.

Isn't sectional sofas more broadly any couch with sections? I.e. not necessarily one with an angle?

 

[PennLady]

As jomar says, I think most in the US would call it a sectional. I hope so. I have one and that's what I call it.

 

[lovecraft68]

As jomar says, I think most in the US would call it a sectional. I hope so. I have one and that's what I call it.

For erotica purposes we should change it to a sextional.

 

[tomlitilia]

As jomar says, I think most in the US would call it a sectional. I hope so. I have one and that's what I call it.

OK, maybe this would work then....
Our guests were sitting on our big sectional sofa in the corner, with the guys on one wedge and the women on the other.

 

[TxRad]

OK, maybe this would work then....
Our guests were sitting on our big sectional sofa in the corner, with the guys on one wedge and the women on the other.

with the guys on one section and the women on the other.

I think this would work better.

 

[lovecraft68]

with the guys on one section and the women on the other.

I think this would work better.

True, when I hear wedge I think cheese or someone who had their underwear yanked up their ass.

 

[oggbashan]

OK, maybe this would work then....
Our guests were sitting on our big sectional sofa in the corner, with the guys on one wedge and the women on the other.

In British English it's a corner suite so:

Our guests were sitting on our corner suite, with the men on one settee and the women on the other angle.

 

[NOIRTRASH]

http://www.homestratosphere.com/types-of-sofas/

photos

 

[jsmiam]

That sounds familiar. Would this work then?
Our guests were sitting on our corner couch with the guys on one wedge and the women on the other.



Isn't sectional sofas more broadly any couch with sections? I.e. not necessarily one with an angle?

my bad, i misread. wedge is the name of the corner piece.

same store uses terms left arm and right arm for the ends, that sounds good too.

 

[Carnevil9]

Yes, in the US, those are called Sectionals. While it is true that being split into sections, and having a corner, are two different things, they almost always go together, so that is the term that is used.

 

[PennLady]

For erotica purposes we should change it to a sextional.

LOL We need a like button.

 

[tomlitilia]

In British English it's a corner suite so:

Our guests were sitting on our corner suite, with the men on one settee and the women on the other angle.

Oh how I wish you anglo-people could settle for one language.

 

[JackLuis]

Oh how I wish you anglo-people could settle for one language.

What! and Agree with the English! Perish the thought.

 

[Asbel]

Yo I totally wrote a sectional sofa up in my story too.

... whoop, my mistake. I described it as a "modular black sofa".
Basically the kind that you can change the size and shape of.

 

[jsmiam]

The Ottoman is the single greatest piece of non-bed furniture in existence.

 

[sr71plt]

Oh how I wish you anglo-people could settle for one language.

Where's the creativity in that? Sounds like English cooking.

 

[rjordan]

Our guests were sitting on our corner couch with the guys on one wedge and the women on the other.

I hope the rest of the scene is more interesting than the elaborate seating arrangement. If your description is this complex, the reader is going to waste time reconciling it with the image that popped up in their own mind.

When I have this much trouble trying to sort it out, I know the reader is going to be completely lost. I toss it and start over.

rj

 

[oggbashan]

I think rjordan has hit on the critical point.

Does it matter? Who cares about how they are sitting? Is it really important to the story?

 

[jsmiam]

I hope the rest of the scene is more interesting than the elaborate seating arrangement. If your description is this complex, the reader is going to waste time reconciling it with the image that popped up in their own mind.

When I have this much trouble trying to sort it out, I know the reader is going to be completely lost. I toss it and start over.

rj

I think rjordan has hit on the critical point.

Does it matter? Who cares about how they are sitting? Is it really important to the story?

Harsh much?

Nonetheless, perhaps "L shaped sofa" would cross boundaries and oceans to everyone's liking. Wait... I almost got that out with a straight face.

 

[oggbashan]

Harsh much?

...

Possibly. But I, like many others, can get hung up on details like this when they don't really matter in the story.

I had an internet friend who had a habit of making his characters "turn to speak". His heroes and heroines were spinning like tops.

I know some of my writing habits and try to avoid them, not always successfully.

My intention was to get the original poster to think:

What is the intention of this setting?

Is the seating position critical and essential?

If we on the Authors' Hangout are having difficulty with it, many readers will too.

 

[Hypoxia]

Does it matter? Who cares about how they are sitting? Is it really important to the story?

For tracing ballistics, yes. We'll know from where the shot was fired. Or if there was some esoteric detail of sexual geometry -- Jan was upside-down on the settee atop Terry who was intermeshed with Dov leaning over the red plush ottoman. And I think Colonel Mustard was in the billiard room with a candlestick. Maybe we need diagrams.

 

[MarkoAaron]

I've always heard them referred to as sectional, but I've also heard them referred to as an "L shaped couch" but I live in the South and wouldn't recommend that one.