Idioms & Slang : Immaculate Congestion

Slide your cursor over the words in bold for their meaning.

I was reminded of this funny term while crawling home in congested traffic around Strasbourg that another American friend of mine had shared with me and I had never heard before.

Have you ever been in stop-and-go traffic moving at a snail’s pace and then all of a sudden you’re driving normally at full speed but there wasn’t an accident, a stalled car, construction work nor any other evident reason for causing the back-up? We call this immaculate congestion! It’s a play on words of an immaculate conception.

Check out my related post from 19 November 2008 : Idioms & Slang : Rubbernecking