slow-coach

slow-coach
   Used in informal British speech to scmeone who seems to be moving too slowly. The American equivalent is ‘slowpoke’. Dickens seems to have been the first to use the slow-coach metaphor, applying it to Mr Pickwick. Later, in Martin Chuzzlewit, he has Mr Pecksniff remark: ‘What are we but coaches? Some of us are slow coaches; some of us are fast coaches. We start from The Mother’s Arms, and we run to The Dust Shovel.’ In The Battle of the Villa Fiorita, by Rumer Godden, a young English boy says to his sister: ‘Hurry up, slow coach. I have bagged two seats.’

A dictionary of epithets and terms of address . . 2015.

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  • Slow coach — Slow Slow (sl[=o]), a. [Compar. {Slower} (sl[=o] [ e]r); superl. {Slowest}.] [OE. slow, slaw, AS. sl[=a]w; akin to OS. sl[=e]u blunt, dull, D. sleeuw, slee, sour, OHG. sl[=e]o blunt, dull, Icel. sl[=o]r, sl[ae]r, Dan. sl[ o]v, Sw. sl[ o]. Cf.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • slow coach — noun : one who is slow or is lethargic in temperament : one who thinks or moves slowly * * * slow coach, Informal. 1. a slowpoke. 2. an idle, inactive person. 3. an old fashioned person; fogy …   Useful english dictionary

  • slow coach — slow person …   English contemporary dictionary

  • Slow coach — lagging behind, slow, lazy person …   Dictionary of Australian slang

  • slow coach — Australian Slang lagging behind, slow, lazy person …   English dialects glossary

  • slow-coach —  Person who lags behind …   A concise dictionary of English slang

  • slow·coach — …   Useful english dictionary

  • slow-coach — …   Useful english dictionary

  • Slow Poke — is a popular song. It is credited to three writers: Pee Wee King, Redd Stewart, and Chilton Price. Actually Price wrote the song in 1951, as she thought the song described her friend, King, very well. King recorded the song and Stewart did the… …   Wikipedia

  • Slow — (sl[=o]), a. [Compar. {Slower} (sl[=o] [ e]r); superl. {Slowest}.] [OE. slow, slaw, AS. sl[=a]w; akin to OS. sl[=e]u blunt, dull, D. sleeuw, slee, sour, OHG. sl[=e]o blunt, dull, Icel. sl[=o]r, sl[ae]r, Dan. sl[ o]v, Sw. sl[ o]. Cf. {Sloe}, and… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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