What is a "New York Minute"?

1. 91

   MarleneBposted 11 years ago

   What is a "New York Minute"?
   
   I often hear people say things like, "I'd cut them off in a New York Minute!" It prompted me to wonder what, in fact, is a "New York Minute"? What makes a New York Minute different than a reagular minute?
   
   

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2. 56

   TajSinghposted 11 years ago

   A "New York Minute" is equivalent to an instant. It appears to have originated in Texas around 1967. It is a reference to the frenzied and hectic pace of New Yorkers' lives. A New Yorker does in an instant what a Texan would take a minute to do.
   
   
   Reference: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.p … k%20Minute

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   1. 57

      WD Curry 111posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Why have I been hearing it since the late fifties in Florida? Originality is the art of forgetting where you heard it first.

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3. 90

   Georgie Loweryposted 11 years ago

   I think a New York minute in NY, NY is pretty quick. Out here in Belmont, NY, it's slow as molasses in January!

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4. 61

   katyzzzposted 11 years ago

   Perhaps a 4 minute mile? and I know, my answer is too short

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5. 72

   pagesvoiceposted 11 years ago

   A New York minute is 60 seconds, but it happens during Eastern Standard Time. Hahaha.

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6. 61

   MickSposted 11 years ago

   I'm not sure, but I would guess that it is a very short time, the opposite off a nurse's minute - 'I'll see to that in a minute', the next time you see her is 3 hours later.

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7. 79

   molometerposted 11 years ago

   40 seconds,
   The phrase relates to the frenetic pace of life of many New Yorkers. A 60 second minute is just not fast enough, hence a 40 second minute. I hear they are working on a brand new 30 second minute. Should be available in the new year.

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8. 59

   Avijeet Dasposted 11 years ago

   A New York minute is an instant. Or as Johnny Carson once said, it's the interval between a Manhattan traffic light turning green and the guy behind you honking his horn.

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9. 81

   TCaroposted 11 years ago

   New York is a place always on the go and the hustle and bustle of the city is most evident during rush hour. The term "New York minute" sort of refers to a minute that takes place in less than 60 seconds because things move so fast.

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10. 57

    WD Curry 111posted 11 years ago

    
    
    I know this one. I live in Florida. We have plenty of New Yorkers running around down here. A New York minute is how long it takes to say, "You can't get good pizza down here."
    
    I have always found this odd. Almost every pizza parlor has a sign that reads New York Pizza.

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11. 0

    msorenssonposted 11 years ago

    How interesting..it used to be in one ad for a company for newest updates on news, stocks, etc...I thought it was interesting how they  can say so many things in one minute..

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12. 61

    SportsBetterposted 11 years ago

    New Yorkers aren't very patient.  Everything has to be instant.  Go to Arizona and try and buy food and see how slow it is.  Go to New York and if you don't know what you want to order you better move out of the way.

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13. 81

    jadesmgposted 11 years ago

    I thought a new york minute was the idea that alot more happens in a minute in new york than anywhere else. So it's just that so much can change in a minute in new york but it wouldn't happen so fast elsewhere. That's what I thought anyway.

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14. 77

    CloudExplorerposted 11 years ago

    Yes Marlene, many folks speak of a New York Minute, and have no idea what it is or why they're stating it, but it derives from street rappers, gangsters, and criminals I do believe from the streets of New York.
    It's a fancy way of saying things are going to get really bad for someone, and in New York that happens quite often in the street quicker then you can blink sometimes, it actually came from a time period in New York City history, when gang violence, and drug dealing was pretty high, and people were doing really bad things to one another left and right pretty much.
    I know this because I was born in NYC, and I seen much, and only could wish many of our New Yorkers back then were much more civilized, but you know how us humans get when things get tough, some of us just don't know how to act.
    
    So a New York Minute isn't quite a reference to time, its actually a sort of slang began being thrown at first by low life people who cared very little for the value of someone's life. So I never use the term and or phrase, due to me knowing its original derivatives and connections or affiliations.

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    1. 79

       molometerposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       I think you are probably right Mike, I landed in New York in 1979 and put my bad down to make a phone call. Someone snatched my bag. He didn't get far, I must add. As I am from East London, home of all original gangsters : )

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15. 77

    daskittlez69posted 11 years ago

    A NewYork minute is that blink of time in New York after the traffic light turns green and before the car behind you honks their horn.  It was a term coined after someone visited New York and got to see the hustle and bustle of the city with no patience.

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16. 74

    moonfairyposted 11 years ago

    it's the fastest minute in the world!! New Yorkers move a million miles an hour so a New York minute is the snap of a finger.

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