Minutes passed in anxious silence.

Meaning: Periods of time went by while people felt nervous and didn't make any sound.

Choice of Words: Minutes are short periods of time. Passed means to move from one point to another. Anxious means feeling nervous or worried. Silence is the absence of sound.

Alternative Expressions

The minutes seemed to stretch out like taffy.

Meaning: This means that the minutes are going by very slowly, as if they were stretching out like taffy candy.

Choice of Words: Minutes are the small units of time that make up hours and days. Taffy is a type of candy that is known for being chewy and stretchy. When you compare minutes to taffy, it means that the minutes are feeling long and slow, like they're stretching out in a similar way that taffy does.

The clock ticked away, each second a tiny step towards eternity.

Meaning: This means that the time is passing by slowly, and it feels like it will never end.

Choice of Words: Clock is the device that measures time. Ticked is the sound that a clock makes as it measures the seconds. Eternity means forever or an endless amount of time. When you put it all together, it means that the clock is making each second pass by, and each second is like a small step towards forever.

The time crawled by at a snail's pace.

Meaning: This means that the time is passing by very slowly, like a snail crawling.

Choice of Words: Crawled means to move very slowly. Snail's pace is a common expression that means very slowly, because snails are known for being slow-moving creatures. When you say that time is crawling by at a snail's pace, it means that the time is passing by very, very slowly.

Related Expressions