Monday morning quarterback

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See synonyms for Monday morning quarterback on Thesaurus.com

noun Informal.

a person who criticizes the actions or decisions of others after the fact, using hindsight to assess situations and specify alternative solutions.

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Origin of Monday morning quarterback

First recorded in 1940–45

OTHER WORDS FROM Monday morning quarterback

Monday morning quarterbacking, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use Monday morning quarterback in a sentence

Gunshots rang out in Paris this morning on a second day of deadly violence that has stunned the French capital.
France Mourns—and Hunts|Nico Hines, Christopher Dickey|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
A policewoman was shot dead this morning while law enforcement searched for the Charlie Lebdo killers.
France Mourns—and Hunts|Nico Hines, Christopher Dickey|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
This reporter knocked at the Wilkins home on Tuesday morning but received neither an answer nor the business end of a shotgun.
The 7-Year-Old Plane Crash Survivor’s Brutal Journey Through the Woods|James Higdon|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Indeed, although he works here in the old town, he lives in the new part of the city where he walks his dog in the morning.
The Photographer Who Gave Up Manhattan for Marrakech|Liza Foreman|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST

But the program is just six weeks long, the Pentagon admitted Monday.
Pentagon Insider on New Plan to Fight ISIS: ‘Of Course It’s Not Enough’|Nancy A. Youssef|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
“This is a distressing predicament for these young people,” thought Mr. Pickwick, as he dressed himself next morning.
The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, v. 2(of 2)|Charles Dickens
On the morning after Ramona's disappearance, words had been spoken by each which neither would ever forget.
Ramona|Helen Hunt Jackson
The lady in black was reading her morning devotions on the porch of a neighboring bathhouse.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories|Kate Chopin
There he gave orders for the car to be put into running condition for the following morning, and returned to the hotel.
The Joyous Adventures of Aristide Pujol|William J. Locke
Mary is fair as the morning dew— Cheeks of roses and ribbons of blue!
Boys and Girls Bookshelf; a Practical Plan of Character Building, Volume I (of 17)|Various

British Dictionary definitions for Monday morning quarterback

Monday morning quarterback

noun

mainly US and Canadian informal a person who criticizes or suggests alternative courses of action from a position of hindsight after the event in question

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with Monday morning quarterback

Monday-morning quarterback

A person who criticizes or passes judgment from a position of hindsight, as in Ethel was a Monday-morning quarterback about all the personnel changes in her department—she always claimed to have known what was going to happen. This expression, first recorded in 1932, alludes to fans who verbally “replay” Sunday's football game the next day, the quarterback being the team member who calls the plays.