snail pace

Barely moving forward

Snail pace is an extremely slow rate of movement or progress, evoking the gastropod's famously unhurried locomotion.

The phrase usually carries a note of impatience or frustration: Traffic moved at a snail pace.

Also appears as snail's pace.

Related

turtleShell-encased reptile
tortoiseLand-dwelling shelled reptile
slowLacking in speed
slow and steadyGradual but consistent
snailmailPhysical postal correspondence

dawdle · trudge · dragging feet · stagnation · going nowhere fast · languor · creeping · inch by inch · sluggish · moving slowly · crawling · inertia · torpor · glacial · slow as molasses · gradual · plodding · slow burn

Categories

slow-moving thingsmolasses, lava flow, glacier, syrup, tar
slownessslow, sluggish, leisurely, unhurried, crawl
relaxationrelax, naps, break, rest, calm
metric speedskilometers per hour, km/h, m/s

Opposites

speed

snail pacelightning speed

Extreme, almost instantaneous velocity

breakneck speed · full speed · top speed · warp speed · sprint

Family

snail, pace, snails, snailed, snailing, paces, paced, pacing, pacer

Familiarity: Top 200,000
Profile: Known to kids · Used worldwide · Timeless · Everyday, not technical · Rated G