Armchair quarterback

An armchair quarterback doesn’t participate in activities but thinks they know how it should be done and tells the people how to do it.
Knowledge and wisdom are gained not through experience but hours in front of the TV.

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Word of the Day: Armchair quarterback

Are you an armchair quarterback?

Wait, now, before you say no, please allow me to explain what an armchair quarterback is.


An armchair quarterback is a person who doesn’t participate in something but still seems to know how it should be done and enjoys telling the people who are doing it, how to do it correctly.


The term comes from American men watching football on TV and yelling at the quarterback and coach, telling them what they should do, because, of course, everyone is an expert when they are sitting in an armchair at home, eating potato chips and watching the game on TV.

Yes, and that includes me too.

But I watch Canadian football and ice hockey.

If you are watching baseball on TV, do you talk to the TV?

Do you tell the manager when he should take out the starting pitcher because he is losing control of his pitches?

If your neighbour is building a deck, do you go over, not to help him, but to tell him what he is doing wrong?

Do you ever try to tell someone how to do something, even when you are not participating?

If you have ever done anything like this, I ask you to think again.

Are you an armchair quarterback?


This post is understandable by someone with at least a 7th-grade education (age 12).

On the Flesch-Kincaid reading-ease test, this post scores 74.

The easier a passage is to read, the higher the score on a scale of 0 – 100.



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