Monday morning quarterback

American  

noun

Informal.

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

---

Monday morning quarterback British  

noun

1. informal a person who criticizes or suggests alternative courses of action from a position of hindsight after the event in question

---

Monday-morning quarterback Idioms  

1. 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.

---

Other Word Forms

• Monday morning quarterbacking noun

Etymology

Origin of Monday morning quarterback

First recorded in 1940–45

Example Sentences

Therapy may help you with this Monday morning quarterback.

From MarketWatch

“Of course, it’s so easy to be the Monday morning quarterback,” he says with a smile.

From Los Angeles Times

Do you ever play Monday morning quarterback with records that don’t work?

From Los Angeles Times

Atkins said she wasn’t sure, saying: “It’s easy to Monday morning quarterback now. ... We know more today than we did then.”

From Los Angeles Times

“Imagine a 14-year-old kid trying to process in real time what’s going on, and we’re here playing Monday morning quarterback,” Gordon said.

From Seattle Times