hurried up and waited
Hastened, then idled
Hurried up and waited describes rushing to meet a deadline only to find yourself stuck waiting anyway.
The phrase captures a common frustration—being told to move quickly, then discovering the urgency was pointless: We hurried up and waited at the gate for two hours.
The expression originated in military contexts, where troops often rushed to assembly points only to stand around idle.
- hurry up and waitFrenzied action followed by delay
- bureaucratic processesFormal administrative procedures
- impatienceIntolerance of delay
- urgencyPressing need for action
- military operationsPlanned armed forces activities
irony · delay · standing in line · killing time · thumb twiddling · resignation · deadlines · inefficiency · frustration · event planning · anticipation · traffic jams · scheduling · expectation · annoyance · slow burn · stress · pause
hurried up and waitedsmooth sailing
Untroubled progress forward
well-oiled machine · even keel · streamlined · efficient · frictionless
hurried up and waitedsmooth sailing
Untroubled progress forward
like clockwork · synchronized · just-in-time · Swiss precision · well-oiled machine
hurried up and waitedsteady pace
Uniform rate of motion
unhurried · even keel · leisurely · methodical · gradual
hurried, hurries, hurrying, hurriedly, waited, waiting, waiter, waitress