diff --git a/pkg/util/flowcontrol/throttle_test.go b/pkg/util/flowcontrol/throttle_test.go
index f10ef5fef5c..642020fe4b1 100644
--- a/pkg/util/flowcontrol/throttle_test.go
+++ b/pkg/util/flowcontrol/throttle_test.go
@@ -64,7 +64,8 @@ func TestMultithreadedThrottling(t *testing.T) {
 	// record wall time
 	endTime := time.Now()
 
-	if duration := endTime.Sub(startTime); duration < time.Second {
+	// tolerate a 1% clock change because these things happen
+	if duration := endTime.Sub(startTime); duration < (time.Second * 99 / 100) {
 		// We shouldn't be able to get 100 tokens out of the bucket in less than 1 second of wall clock time, no matter what
 		t.Errorf("Expected it to take at least 1 second to get 100 tokens, took %v", duration)
 	} else {