slow on the uptake
4
8.5
- idiom
- Informal
:
lento para entender
- At times, I find myself slow on the uptake when learning new concepts in class.
- a little slow on the uptake
- a bit slow on the uptake
Examples
-
You're not usually so slow on the uptake, Evans.
-
I apologized for being a little slow on the uptake and told her that I really appreciated the pride she took in her writing.
Blog text (30) -
I suppose Bill and I were a bit slow on the uptake.
Fiction book (1996) -
Sorry, I was a bit slow on the uptake there.
Blog text (14) -
These have most likely been out for a long time, but I tend to be very slow on the uptake with these things.
Blog text (15) -
I'm sorry, am I being slow on the uptake?
-
I'm slow on the uptake.
Fiction book (1998) -
You'll forgive me if I've been a little slow on the uptake.
-
He starts off pretty slow on the uptake, but once he finds his feet, he continuously surprises everyone with little revelations of insight.
Blog text (30) -
I believe that there have always been people a little slow on the uptake when it comes to irony, and the Internet is a medium that loses much over the wires and distance between the reader and the writer.
Blog text (3)
Synonyms
297
4.4
Not quick to learn or understand things
6
5.3
Not very smart and slow to understand things
4
7.9
Slow to understand simple ideas or instructions
3
6.7
Not quick to understand or think
Slow to notice or understand obvious facts
Antonyms
How Quick
Surface Forms
Morphology
The adjective 'slow' clearly signals slowness and 'uptake' (acceptance/starting to use) can metaphorically extend to 'grasping' an idea, so a connection is partially inferable. However, the collocation 'on the uptake' is idiomatic and the noun 'uptake' in this sense is relatively low-frequency and may be unknown to a B1 learner, making the exact meaning not fully predictable without exposure.
Etymology
Slow on the uptake comes from the idea that uptake means 'taking up' or absorbing something, like a sponge soaking up water. So, if a sponge soaks up water slowly, a person 'slow on the uptake' is slow to take in or understand new ideas.