Can anyone visualize a box turtle migration?
Term: Herd of turtles
Definition: a slow start (Southeastern USA)
Usage: Leaving the house after numerous delays "And we're off like a herd of turtles"
Explanation: The phrase belongs to a particular breed of imaginative sarcasm, deriving, I think, from an inclination to stay as polite as possible. The accompanying visual is rather charming, if you think about it.
Trivia: The "herd of turtles" phenomenon is most common in the Wilmington/Cape Fear area of North Carolina.
From:
http://www.whatdoesthatmean.com/node/2009