Moving at a glacial pace
Meaning
To progress or act extremely slowly, often frustratingly so.
Origin
Imagine the sheer scale of a glacier: a colossal river of ice, miles wide and centuries old, carving valleys and shaping mountains with its unstoppable, yet almost imperceptible, march. These natural wonders advance at a crawl so slow, often just a few feet or even inches a day, that their movement is typically only noticeable over long periods, or with specialized scientific instruments. It's this profound, almost agonizing slowness of the Earth's largest moving objects that perfectly captured the essence of frustratingly sluggish progress, giving birth to the phrase 'moving at a glacial pace' to describe anything that progresses with a similar, exasperating lack of speed.
Examples
- The construction project, plagued by endless delays, has been moving at a glacial pace for months.
- Despite the urgent deadline, the committee's decision-making process continued to move at a glacial pace.