Who Coined the Phrase “A New York Minute”, Where Did it Come From, and What Does the Expression Mean?

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Karen Hill

The push for urgency in our day-to-day existence is often expressed as a “New York minute” because that’s how long it takes an impatient New Yorker to let you know you’re a problem.

It was discovered in 1967 as a response to a survey for a Dictionary of American English.

One question asked was to fill in the blank after, “I’ll be ready in … ” to which a Jasper, Texas, policeman wrote “a New York minute.”

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