at a snail's pace
3
3.8
- idiom
- Informal
:
a paso de tortuga
- The construction project is progressing at a snail's pace, frustrating the residents who hoped for a quicker completion.
Examples
-
I love that riverfront plan, but it will move at a snail's pace.
Blog text (1) -
In general, corporations expect the economy to grow, but at a snail's pace.
Blog text (33) -
We're moving at a snail's pace.
-
We're moving at a snail's pace!
-
And the game's fun, but it kind of moves along at a snail's pace.
-
Investigations into the killing are moving at a snail's pace.
Academic text (2012) -
Negotiations continued at a snail's pace, casting clouds of doubt in the minds of private shareholders.
Academic text (1996) -
Unless we lower the jobless rate, the economy will continue to trudge along at a snail's pace.
Blog text (27) -
My learning proceeds at a snail's pace, much too slow for my impatience and eagerness.
Academic text (1998) -
The game opened at a snail's pace, with the two teams sitting deadlocked 6-6 with nearly nine minutes elapsed.
Blog text (4)
Synonyms
∞
1.0
At a low speed without hurrying
17
2.3
Moving at a low speed and not making quick progress
3
7.5
Do something slowly on purpose and without hurry
3
3.6
Slowly and with little energy
1
6.8
A very slow speed of progress or movement
Antonyms
How Fast
Surface Forms
Morphology
at + a + snail's + pace
The phrase literally compares speed to that of a snail: if a learner knows 'snail' (a very slow animal) and 'pace' (speed or rate), they can infer the meaning 'very slowly'. This simile-like, compositional structure is cross-linguistically common and follows ordinary English comparison patterns, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will understand it.
Etymology
At a snail's pace may come from watching a snail move at a very slow pace. The image of a tiny snail moving almost not at all makes it easy to see why the phrase means 'very slowly'.