snail's pace
noun [in singular]
An extremely slow speed: he drove at a snail’s pace...
- Their picaresque journey is slowed to a snail's pace by roadblocks, alcohol and banter about anything - anything but what is really on their minds.
- Maxi taxi drivers had to slow down to a snail's pace, as they passed through the flooded Priority Bus Route, near the entrance to City Gate.
- As the number of pop-up ads continue to escalate, even mundane activities have been slowed to a snail's pace.
Derivatives
snail-paced
- Descend down numerous staircases behind snail-paced tourists back to the floor of St Paul's Cathedral, only to discover that the sun has now come out and the view from up top would have been tons better fifteen minutes later.
- In the fifth inning of an already snail-paced game, Martinez pulled starter Brandon Lyon, the first in what seemed like a hundred Toronto pitching changes (in reality only six).
- Even as construction work for the Bangalore international airport is in full swing at Devanahalli, progress on ground infrastructure to reach the airport is snail-paced.