hurry up and wait
Rush then stagnate
Hurry up and wait describes a frustrating pattern where you rush to meet a deadline only to find yourself idle—the urgency was pointless.
Originally military slang for the chaos of mobilization: soldiers scramble to assemble, then stand around for hours.
Now applies broadly to any situation involving frantic preparation followed by enforced waiting: We rushed to the airport just to hurry up and wait at the gate.
- urgencyPressing need for action
- lineContinuous mark or queue
- DMV lineWait for vehicle paperwork
- military operationsPlanned armed forces activities
- frustrationDispleasure from blocked efforts
bureaucracy · government office · delay · flight delay · impatience · irony · resignation · construction projects · idle · helplessness · groan · fidget · yawn · slouch · pause · deadlines · event planning · clock
- war humormilitary humor, MASH, Catch-22, Beetle Bailey, war comics
hurry up and waitwell-oiled machine
Flawlessly coordinated working system
streamlined · like clockwork · frictionless · just-in-time · smooth sailing
hurry up and waitsteady pace
Uniform rate of motion
even keel · slow and steady · methodical · measured pace · unhurried
hurry up and waittight ship
Strictly controlled organization
Swiss precision · military precision · clockwork precision · synchronized
hurry, wait, hurries, hurried, hurrying, hurriedly, waits, waited, waiting