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Learn More American Expressions

nowhere fast

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Puzzle #156 · November 4, 2025
When there is a lot of action, effort and activity but no progress at all being made, you are going nowhere fast.

A related concept is running to stand still. In Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-glass the Red Queen expressed “Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!”
Puzzle Appearances

The expression nowhere fast has appeared in 3 puzzles:

  • Puzzle #93 on September 2, 2025
  • Puzzle #156 on November 4, 2025
  • Puzzle #174 on November 22, 2025
Rate of Appearance in English Language Print

Google's Ngram project shows how often a pair of words has appeared in print every year since the 1800's.

Data from Google Books Ngram Viewer. Licensed under CC BY 3.0.

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