low speed, high drag

English

Etymology

From the field of aviation, where wings and other exterior aircraft parts are designed to maximize drag and fuel, thus maximizing the craft's potential ordinance and time over its target.

Adjective

low speed, high drag (not comparable)

1. (informal) Slow and steady.
   • (Can we date this quote?), Foriteth Annual Report of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, page 21:

     The use of boundary-layer control to increase the lift of a wing normally results in reductions in landing approach speeds to such an extent that the airplane operates in a low-speed high-drag range where more thrust is required as speed is reduced .

   • 1959 August, Marius Lodeesen, “Emergency procedure for civil jets”, in Flying Magazine, volume 65, number 2, page 34:

     Spoilers, as well as flaps, help to achieve the low-speed, high-drag descent which is always desirable in a jet transport.

   • 1988, Martin L. Greenwald, Residential Energy Systems and Climate Control Technology, page 1:

     Modern high-speed, low-drag wind electric generators are a far cry from the relatively low speed, high-drag water pumping windmills that are still a common sight in many parts of the country.

   • 2020, Sanford Fidell, ‎Vincent Mestre, A Guide To U.S. Aircraft Noise Regulatory Policy, page 96:

     However, increases in fuel burn by aircraft making turns at low altitudes, where the aircraft are in a low-speed, high drag configuration, can adversely affect aircraft operating margins.

2. (informal) Not functioning very well; clueless or inefficient.
   • 1987, West Point Association of Graduates, “'87”, in Assembly, volume 46, page 150:

     Like all OBC classes, I'm sure she received her share of low speed, high drag Arrrmy tng ! At least you had good company, Vick.

   • 1993, Military Intelligence - Issue 2, page 52:

     The students usually enter the course at a dependent level which is what we at the academy label , "low speed - high drag."

   • 2013, Scott Haraburda, Christian Controversies: Seeking the Truth, page 237:

     Afterwards, a lifer noncom would go ape shit over his low-speed high-drag peons and plan a GI party, sometimes giving his half-stepping shamurai warriors instructions about dust bunnies and getting everything dress right dress while adjusting their headspace and timing in the front leaning rest position.

Adverb

low speed, high drag (not comparable)

1. (informal) Inefficiently or not competently. (Can we verify⁽⁺⁾ this sense?)
2. (informal) Moving at a low speed with high drag. (Can we verify⁽⁺⁾ this sense?)

Usage notes

• Often used as a standalone expression, suggesting a general philosophy of life: "Slow speed, high drag, man! AKA man with wife and kids." Originated in the U.S. military during the Vietnam War. However, the phrase is used today primarily outside the military, by those who are seen as affecting a level of expertise that does not derive from actual combat experience.

See also

• CDI factor
• mall ninja