Monday morning quarterback
After-the-fact expert
A Monday morning quarterback is someone who criticizes decisions after the outcome is known—wisdom that comes too late to be useful.
The term comes from American football, where Sunday games invite easy second-guessing on Monday: It's easy to be a Monday morning quarterback, but the coach made the call he thought was right.
The verb form is Monday morning quarterbacking.
- criticOne who judges merit
- retrospectiveReviewing what came before
- hindsightRecognition after the fact
- self-deceptionConvincing yourself of falsehoods
- footballField sport with goals
water cooler talk · overconfidence · rationalization · after-the-fact · second-guessing · regret · backseat driver · know-it-all · told you so · armchair · attacker · mistake · slang · hindsight bias · memory distortion · blame · confirmation bias · heuristics
- idiomstime flies, hit the sack, seize the day, ring a bell, break a leg
- sports idiomsdrop the ball, throw in the towel, slam dunk, out of left field, level playing field
- know-it-allsknow-it-all, pedant, smart aleck, wise guy, wiseacre
- bystandersbystander, onlooker, observer, spectator, watcher
- judgmental typesmoralist, moralizer, prig, prude, puritan
- meddlingmeddle, meddler, butt in, horn in, intrude
Monday morning quarterbackdecision-maker
One with choosing power
doer · leader · executive · quarterback · commander
Monday morning quarterbackrisk-taker
One who courts peril
boots on the ground · first responder · pioneer · trailblazer · entrepreneur
Monday, morning, quarterback, Mondays, mornings, quarterbacks, quarterbacked, quarterbacking, quarter