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Joined: Oct 2004
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priya Offline OP
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Hi,

Can somebody tell me about the phrase "Monday morning quarterbacking"? I came across this while I was watching CNN and looked up the meaning on the Web. I think it means "giving advice when it is no longer useful". Does anyone know the etymology of this expression?

Thanks
Priya


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Hi,
Yes that's right. Most pro football (US) games are played on Sunday. It is common for fans to talk about the games on Monday morning around the water cooler, in break rooms etc. where one might hear: "Joe Armstrong* should have passed on that third down play rather than run with the ball" or the like. 20/20 Hindsight.
edit: * Joe is the Quarterback, the team leader on the field when his team is in possession of the ball.
O'bow



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"I am terribly anxious to state the facts as they were, from my viewpoint - not from someone else’s - what I saw and what I acted on, not as a Monday-morning Quarterback. I want to state conditions as they were then ... and the steps that were taken to meet the situation [after North Korea invaded South Korea]."

– President Harry S. Truman, Presidential memoirs interview, February 16, 1955





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In a demonstration of the continuing viability of this expression, today (26 October) in Dubuque, Iowa, President Bush said that Senator Kerry "has no plan, no vision, just a long list of complaints. But a Monday morning quarterback has never led any team to victory."





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