Arm candy is a colloquial term for a very attractive person that accompanies someone else to a social function. Arm candy can be an individual who is male or female.
The term is believed to have originated in the early 1990s, out of the similar colloquial term, eye candy.
The word trophy wife or husband may be used interchangeably with arm candy.
A person who is arm candy cannot just be beautiful. They are expected to be well-behaved in social situations, charming but demure enough to never cause a scene. While not strictly the case, someone who is arm candy is conventionally a much younger person than the individual they accompany to social events.
The relationship between a person and their arm candy is beneficial to both individuals, who gain attention, project an impression of sexual appeal, and boost their social status. Typically this relationship is not a romantic one. Instead, the relationship between arm candy and their partner tends to be more like a business arrangement.
