diff --git a/cql3/statements/sl_prop_defs.cc b/cql3/statements/sl_prop_defs.cc
index f3a7d5ccb5..4158c3b8bd 100644
--- a/cql3/statements/sl_prop_defs.cc
+++ b/cql3/statements/sl_prop_defs.cc
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ void sl_prop_defs::validate() {
         data_value v = duration_type->deserialize(duration_type->from_string(*repr));
         cql_duration duration = static_pointer_cast<const duration_type_impl>(duration_type)->from_value(v);
         if (duration.months || duration.days) {
-            throw exceptions::invalid_request_exception("Timeout values cannot be longer than 24h");
+            throw exceptions::invalid_request_exception("Timeout values cannot be expressed in days/months");
         }
         if (duration.nanoseconds % 1'000'000 != 0) {
             throw exceptions::invalid_request_exception("Timeout values must be expressed in millisecond granularity");