slow train
1
2.5
- noun
- /sloʊ treɪn/
:
tren lento
- The family decided to travel by slow train so they could enjoy the scenery and spend time together during the ride.
Examples
-
By accident, though, he did not board the slow train but instead boarded the fast one, and not long afterwards the fast train departed.
Academic text (1997) -
Once in Coldwater, near the town square, my brother grabbed my right ankle and wedged my foot in between the tracks that led behind our grandparents' house, with a slow train approaching.
Fiction book (1998) -
I have 8 more infusions... the slow train.
Blog text (21) -
He's on a slow train to the cold, cold north and has no destination.
Fiction book (2000) -
Taking our children with her, she was jolted about in a packed, slow train for fifteen hours, and after that had to endure a two-hour bus ride.
Fiction book (2002) -
The one-way road, the slow train, the uncertain sky: all these help me, if not to understand what's going on, then to understand how little I can do about it and, with this understanding, to manage the ups and downs, the fitful bursts of sunshine succeeded by more clouds.
Academic text (2008) -
Wessex Estate is separated from public housing in Queenstown—one of the oldest Housing and Development Board satellite towns—by the Malayan railway track on which runs a slow train between peninsular Malaysia and Singapore a few times a day.
Academic text (2009) -
We took a slow train that stopped at every station on the way to our vacation destination.
-
During the journey, the slow train provided beautiful views of the countryside as it made frequent stops.
Synonyms
5
2.7
A train or bus that stops at every station on its route
How Fast
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: the adjective 'slow' modifies 'train' to indicate a train that travels at low speed or stops frequently. This adjective–noun modification is a straightforward, cross-linguistically common pattern, so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
The noun slow train is a simple name from old trains: it was the train that was slow because it stopped at almost every small station, so it moved slowly and let passengers enjoy the view. That's why it means 'a train that travels at a slow speed and often stops at many stations'.