football minute

noun

A time interval that has been called a minute but which actually takes much longer.

“She said she'd be down in a minute, but it's more like a football minute.”

Opposite
New York minute
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Meanings

nounfootball minute (plural football minutes)

plural football minutes

  1. A time interval that has been called a minute but which actually takes much longer.

    She said she'd be down in a minute, but it's more like a football minute.

Synonyms & antonyms

Opposite
New York minute

Origin

From the fact that a minute on the clock of a gridiron football game actually takes much longer than a minute in real time, due to stoppages in play.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

“football minute.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/football%20minute. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

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

Source: football minute on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.