New York minute (abuse)
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A New York minute, outside contexts referring directly to time, means berating someone, akin to "giving them hell". For example:
- Paolo: "Is George back from the store yet?"
- Bernadette: "No, they were out of milk again, and he's giving them a New York minute."
There may be an ironic link to use of the same term to mean "a very short time", suggesting "as a New Yorker, I can't spare 60 seconds to tell them what they deserve, so I'm packing the same abuse into a shorter time, and being proportionately more intensive in my abuse." It could also be a reference to the famed rudeness of native New Yorkers.
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