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Basically is a compliment for a speech, here are the phrases:

That was a tight one minute, Brian. You're ready for Jack Paar.

From The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel: The Punishment Room

I know who Jack Paar is but what's "you are ready for"?

I also don't know the meaning of "tight" and the second phrase

2 Answers 2

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"You're ready for" means almost exactly what it says. That is Brian is now ready to present the speech either to or opposite of Jack Paar. Without further context it is hard to tell exactly which. The most likely reading to me is that Jack Paar is a rival speaker and Brian is now ready to outperform him.

As for tight, that is used in the sense of "great". Merriam-Webster has usage 9:

9 chiefly dialectal : capable, competent

The urban dictionary has a closer definition but given the other ones it uses I'm reluctant to link it.

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  • The first part is correct, but you need to know the context to appreciate that "tight" is a comedy term that means "well-constructed and without flab/slack/boredom", as Tᴚoɯɐuo's answer says.
    – Stuart F
    Commented Jul 19, 2022 at 10:02
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Tight in American English is a colloquial term that means "polished, well put together (as an act, such as a stand-up comedy routine or an ensemble's musical performance)".

I suppose the figurative meaning derives from the idea of being "taut"; there were no sections of the performance that "sagged" in terms of audience engagement or we're "loose" or "sloppy" in terms of timing.

A band-leader could say to his band when practicing a new piece: We're almost there. We just need to tighten it up in a few places.

Jack Paar was a TV host in the late 1950s on whose show comedians could appear before a national audience, and so "to be ready for" him, means that you have attained a degree of mastery of your craft sufficient to appear before a national TV audience.

You're ready for the big time!

I think he's ready for the pros. Let's bring him up out of the farm league.

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