dodgy box

English

Etymology

Either dodgy (“[legally] dubious”) +‎ box (“device”) or dodge (“avoid [paying]”) +‎ -y +‎ box.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈdɒd͡ʒ.iˌbɒks/

Noun

dodgy box (plural dodgy boxes)

1. (Ireland, informal) A device providing unauthorized access to encrypted television or streaming services.
   • 2009 January 18, Jan Battles, “One in five cable customers has a ‘dodgy box’”, in The Sunday Times‎^[1], Dublin:

     Almost one in five Irish cable television customers has an illegal decoder to unscramble channels that they are not paying for, according to industry estimates.

   • 2017 April 26, Gordon Hunt, “Are dodgy boxes illegal? The EU has its say”, in Silicon Republic‎^[2], Dublin:

     Earlier this week, eBay announced it was removing pre-loaded dodgy boxes, meaning those with Kodi Android software already on them.

   • 2017 June 30, Ian O'Riordan, “Pat Hickey interview avoids the hard questions”, in The Irish Times‎^[3], Dublin, page 6 Sports:

     The Untouchables showed up on our dodgy box during the week, right on that scene where Al Capone is attending a performance of the opera Pagliacci.

   • 2023 April 30, hail_hail, Kerrydale Street‎^[4]:

     I paid for Via play to ensure I got a quality reliable stream and the stream on Amazon is awful. I'm getting a better stream on my dodgy box.

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:dodgy box.