jam-up

[ jam-uhp ]

noun

1. a stoppage or slowing of motion, work, or the like, due to obstruction, overloading, malfunction, or inefficiency; jam:

   Your letters didn't go out yesterday because there was a jam-up in the mail room.

Word History and Origins

Origin of jam-up¹

First recorded in 1940–45; noun use of verb phrase jam up

Example Sentences

I’ve tried to avoid dwelling at length on the plot, mainly to avoid duplicating the movie’s mistake, but it plays like a jam-up of familiar set-pieces — an epic train robbery, a few bank holdups and several bloody street fights en route to a climactic shootout — that complicate the surface of a fairly simple, even simplistic, gang-vs.-gang setup.

From Los Angeles Times

“It’s a total jam-up,” he said.

From New York Times

Pittsburgh airport officials say the new program should not create a jam-up at screening checkpoints because non-fliers will be allowed in during the non-peak hours of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.,

From Los Angeles Times

Also, millions will watch a 13-player jam-up on Sunday for the pure — U.S.

From Washington Post

Then the old Troll will curl up under the Woodrow Wilson Bridge at rush hour, when nobody in the jam-up can get away from his tormenting sound, and bellow, “You can change their name from Bullets to Wizards, but you can’t fool me. They’ll never get past the second round, just like they haven’t since ’79.”

From Washington Post

Related Words

• barrier
• deterrent
• drawback
• handicap
• hitch
• impediment
• interference
• interruption
• obstacle
• snag
• stumbling block