New York minute

English

Etymology

Supposedly from the time between a traffic light turning green and the driver behind sounding their horn.

Noun

New York minute (plural New York minutes)

1. (informal) An instant; an extremely short time.

   Synonyms: instant; see also Thesaurus:moment

   • 1989, Don Henley (lyrics and music), “New York Minute”, in The End of the Innocence:

     In a New York minute, everything can change / In a New York minute, you can get out of the rain

See also

• hot minute