Monday-morning quarterback

English

Etymology

Professional football games in the United States are often played on Sundays.

Noun

Monday-morning quarterback (plural Monday-morning quarterbacks)

1. (US, idiomatic) Someone who criticizes from hindsight.

Verb

Monday-morning quarterback (third-person singular simple present Monday-morning quarterbacks, present participle Monday-morning quarterbacking, simple past and past participle Monday-morning quarterbacked)

1. To criticize from hindsight.
   • 1958 January, Jacksel M. Broughton, "I Led the Thunderbirds", Popular Mechanics, volume 109, number 1, [1]:

     Before any show, we "Monday-morning quarterback" the last show. Each man points out his partners' errors, then has to listen to his own.

   • 2004, William A. Cohen, The Art of the Strategist, American Management Association, ISBN 081440782X, page 119 [2]:

     We can Monday-morning quarterback the situation and suggest that the large company should have made a counterchallenge.

   • 2007, Al Alloway, Treasure in the Park, self-published, ISBN 9780615163635, page 126 [3]:

     Nathan, Dave & Marty, wisely chose to leave the battle strategy to the police, Monday-morning quarterbacking the fray from inside the safety of a cement block restroom building.

See also

• twenty-twenty hindsight