putter along

putter along

1. To move forward at a listless pace or in an aimless manner. You can still see my granddad puttering along into town each morning, the same way he's done every morning for the last 30 years. I hate it when people potter along in the bike lane when I'm trying to get to work each morning. Go to the countryside if you're looking for a leisurely bike ride!
2. To continue or make progress at a steady, consistent pace, especially one that is neither particularly fast nor slow. The economy has been puttering along for a while now, and while it continues to make gains, it is not accelerating at the pace many economists say is needed to recover from the recession. Our business has been puttering along. We haven't exploded into success, but we're making good growth each month.
See also: putter
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
See also:
  • potter along
  • putter
  • putter about
  • putter around
  • granddad
  • potter
  • potter about
  • potter around
  • roam
  • roam about
References in periodicals archive
Thats a short wait in the scheme of an NBA season, but time may pass slowly while the rebuilding Bulls putter along without three projected starters.
Better days could arrive soon with LaVine Bulls:
"Things will putter along at current levels, and annual numbers will look great for the first quarter, because things were relatively lousy in 2016."
United States rail carload and intermodal volumes see annual declines in 2016, reports AAR
D) Decided to let everything putter along the way it is and passed a resolution demanding that Beyonce be given the Grammy for best album.
Anecdotal evidence Obamacare's great
The rusting flanks of a new floor grafted on to the concrete shell resemble the ships' hulls that putter along the river, subtly reinforcing the connection with local history and context.
178 the Waterhouse at South Bund
After watching my friend putter along in three-card poker for over an hour, I decided to enter the game.
Q I don't get it: I'm offering a really hot product to a market that really wants it--but it just doesn't feel right. Am I going about this the right way?
"Lisa was coming down for a lesson so I asked her to bring a putter along from Ken's selection.
Storm shares lead after scare over flu
By day, putter along quiet country road with superb coastal views, as a groom guides you along.
LET'S GO GIPSY; Take life in the slow lane in a Romany wagon
A few motorcycles really small bieyeles with slightly oversiszed tyres and tiny, almost inaudible engines putter along.
Martial art amid the smiles
oxymoron; drivers who putter along but refuse to budge from the fast
Anorexic manufacturing: when it banishes in-line inspection, lean has gone too far
Deprived of its main source of money, wells shut down briefly in March before holding a fundraiser to pay its bills and putter along.
Blind bet: Ohio goes after bingo
And he was lucky to escape punishment at Pinehurst when he damaged a green by raking his putter along the grass in frustration.
GOLF: THE OPEN 2005: OPEN; Ranting Tiger tees off by turning the air blue
GOVERNING bodies love to forgive the misdemeanours of their big-name stars, so it was no surprise to see the USPGA chiefs wave play on after T iger Woods scraped his putter along the green after holing out on Friday, writes Phil Agius.
Sports Betting: Sport on TV
But he showed his frustration by dragging his putter along the deck after three putting the ninth, marking the surface.
Golf: US Open: SHOOTINGG STARS; Hot Goosen rockets into the lead
MOST centenarians just putter along, but a 101-year-old Florida golfer went one better yesterday and scored a hole-in-one.
Golfer Harold hits a hole-in-one - at 101
He had one golfer slide the heel of his putter along a plastic board to prevent him from turning his putter head.
After teaching stars, Giles returns home to Stow Acres