hold-up
Stagecoach bandit's crime
A hold-up is an armed robbery, especially of a bank or store: It was a hold-up—three men with guns.
The term extends to any delay or obstruction: What's the hold-up?
Traffic hold-ups made us late.
As a verb phrase, to hold up means to delay, to rob at gunpoint, or to remain sturdy: That excuse won't hold up in court.
Organized large-scale theft
gunpoint · masked · getaway · cashier · teller · vault · demand · threaten
Delay until later
- pauseTemporary cessation of activity
- snagUnforeseen complication
- hitchTemporary difficulty or snag
- setbackReverse in progress
slowdown · bottleneck · lag · stall · interruption · postponement · deferral · complication
Complete mutual obstruction
- jamCooked fruit spread
- logjamObstruction halting flow
- deadlockMutual blocking, no progress
- stalemateMutual obstruction preventing progress
impasse · stoppage · halt · freeze · stagnation · blockage · congestion · traffic
Suspenseful unresolved ending
- anticipationState of awaiting something
- tensionStretched or strained state
- uncertaintyState of being unsure
- edge-of-seatIntensely suspenseful experience
nail-biter · wait-and-see · limbo · prolongation · teaser · buildup · mystery · apprehension
heist
Organized large-scale theft
bandit · gunpoint · masked · getaway · cashier · teller · vault · demand · threaten · accomplice
wait
Delay until later
setback · slowdown · bottleneck · lag · stall · interruption · postponement · deferral · complication · glitch
gridlock
Complete mutual obstruction
stalemate · impasse · stoppage · halt · freeze · stagnation · blockage · congestion · traffic · snarl-up
cliffhanger
Suspenseful unresolved ending
- anticipationState of awaiting something
- tensionStretched or strained state
- uncertaintyState of being unsure
edge-of-seat · nail-biter · wait-and-see · limbo · prolongation · teaser · buildup · mystery · apprehension · expectation
- theftstealing, larceny, steal, burglary, robbery
- bridgecontract bridge, duplicate bridge, rubber bridge, bridge table, trump
- robberyrobbery, armed robbery, bank robbery, stickup, stick-up
- bridge playsfinesse, ruff, trump, discard, endplay
- heistsheist, bank job, bank heist, bank robbery, art heist
hold-upsmooth sailing
Untroubled progress forward
progress · advancement · acceleration · green light · momentum
hold-upcollapse
Sudden structural failure
failure · breakdown · falling apart · deterioration · disintegration