Definitions

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun a traffic jam

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a number of vehicles blocking one another until they can scarcely move

Etymologies

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Examples

  • In this matter my sympathy is with the former group, if only because the latter tend to be the sort of older fans who always block your view of a last‑minute equaliser when they start leaving early "to avoid the traffic" – though clearly the surest way of preventing yourself from getting caught in a traffic snarl-up is not to go to a football match at all.

    Sheepskin-wearing seating bores get my goat | Harry Pearson 2011

  • Authorities are trying to ease the snarl-up by letting more trucks into the capital, especially at night, said Zhang, the traffic director.

    China's Traffic Jam Could Last For Weeks 2010

  • Triggered by road construction and a flurry of coal deliveries from mines in the northwest, the snarl-up was so bad that truck drivers passed the time playing cards and sleeping on the asphalt beside their vehicles.

    Beijing Faces Worsening Traffic Gridlock 2010

  • Triggered by road construction, the snarl-up began 10 days ago and was 100 kilometers (60 miles) long at one point.

    China's Traffic Jam Could Last For Weeks 2010

  • Even coming from North Gloucestershire, which is virtually in the West Country, it took an age to get to Cornwall in those days, it being a toss-up between a snarl-up in Bath and a balls-up in Bristol, followed by the traditional jam (without the cream tea) in Okehampton.

    Cardboard Dreams Peter Ashley 2007

  • If he stays on the streets, he'll hit a snarl-up sooner or later.

    Fleshmarket Close Rankin, Ian 2004

  • There was a major traffic snarl-up on that highway overnight.

    CNN Transcript Aug 21, 2002 2002

  • There was a massive snarl-up of traffic on that highway overnight.

    CNN Transcript Aug 21, 2002 2002

  • It was Boni who had been at the heart of the traffic snarl-up between London and Holland which lasted from 3 August to 12 November last year.

    between silk and cyanide Marks, Leo 1998

  • The Dutch section attributed the entire snarl-up to the natural hazzards of clandestine communication.

    between silk and cyanide Marks, Leo 1998

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