Perry Mason moment

noun

A moment during legal or judicial proceedings when evidence or other information, usually unknown to most present, is introduced into the record in a manner seen as determinative of the outcome of the proceedings regardless of whatever else occurs.

Meanings

nounPerry Mason moment (plural Perry Mason moments)

plural Perry Mason moments

  1. A moment during legal or judicial proceedings when evidence or other information, usually unknown to most present, is introduced into the record in a manner seen as determinative of the outcome of the proceedings regardless of whatever else occurs.

Origin

From the fictional lawyer Perry Mason, based on novels by Erle Stanley Gardner.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Perry Mason moment. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Perry%20Mason%20moment

MLA

“Perry Mason moment.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Perry%20Mason%20moment. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Perry Mason moment,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Perry%20Mason%20moment.

Source: Perry Mason moment on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.