amateur hour
A situation or activity in which the participants show a lack of skill, sound judgment, or professionalism.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“The team's poor performance felt like amateur hour.”
“The project failed because the manager did not prepare, making the whole meeting feel like amateur hour.”
“The restaurant ran out of bread by noon and the servers forgot every order, so the customers complained that the grand opening was total amateur hour.”
“Watching the disorganized staff struggle to handle the simple crisis, the consultant could only describe the entire operation as amateur hour.”
first recorded 20th c. disputed origin
The term is probably derived from the titles of American broadcast programmes, most notably Major Bowes Amateur Hour, which aired on the radio between 1934 and 1945. These broadcasts provided a platform for inexperienced performers to demonstrate their abilities, or lack thereof, to a national audience.
A later iteration, The Original Amateur Hour, continued the tradition on the radio from 1948 to 1952 and on television from 1948 until 1970. The idiom preserves the memory of these scheduled displays of novice effort, generally applied when professional standards are expected but not met.
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finest hour
A point in time or a relatively brief period of time when an especially distinguished, admirable, or effective set of actions is performed.
- 02
long hour
Any of the late hours of the day, especially those nearing midnight, or the hours after sunset.
- 03
rush hour
The times of the day when traffic jams are commonplace, due mainly to people commuting to or from work.
- 04
top of the hour
The time at (or very close to) the start of the next hour of time.
- 05
woman of the hour
A woman who has recently caught the attention of, or is being admired or honoured by, a large number of people.
Last updated August 10, 2026