Snail crawls / moves

Question

Can I say,The snail crawls slowly.The snail moves slowly.The snail slithered slowly.

Philip · Accepted Answer

These are fine.
You also know, I am sure, that you can talk about the animal in general: snails crawl, move...

Vincent Teo · Answer

Thanks!! I thought "crawl" is incorrect! Now, it's is acceptable!! Thanks!!

Philip · Answer

Vincent TeoThanks!! I thought "crawl" is incorrect! Now, it's is acceptable!! Thanks!!

Now that you mention it, 'crawl' might be incorrect, at least in terms of how people crawl. It still seems natural to me, however.

Avangi · Answer

"The snail moves slowly" is good. I'm not sure about the others.

I don't know exactly how the snail moves. You have to wait for a long time to see any progress. When you look at the slimy tracks they leave, they appear to be in a straight line, but have a repeating pattern. They have one large foot, the surface of which can expand and contract; so I expect the progress resembles that of an inch-worm. We say that an inch-worm "inches along."

I think "crawl" implies multiple feet - at least four. (We say people crawl on their hands and knees.)

I always thought "slither" was a wavy progress, like a fish and a snake. My dictionary says it refers to "slipping and sliding," and says nothing about a wavy motion. I don't think this applies to snails, since they seem to stick to smooth surfaces, and can climb vertically. The dictionary does mention snakes for slithering, but refers to the motion as "gliding." - A.

Edit. Sorry, guys, I got called away for half an hour in the middle of this.

Vincent Teo · Answer

Thanks for all your reply.

How about this?

The snails is slipping slowly.

Avangi · Answer

Vincent TeoThe snails is slipping slowly.

Personally, I wouldn't use it. "Slipping" is what you do on the ice, or a wet soapy floor, or a banana peel. At any given moment, he's pretty well stuck to the surface.

New2grammar · Answer

Avangi, Come to think of it, I don't know how to describe the motion of a fish. Do you really use slither??? Perhaps it works for eels. How about gliding like a fish is gliding through the water?

Optilang · Answer

Hi.

As far as I know fish only swim.

Have a look here for more information.

http://www.geocities.com/aquarium_fish/how_fish_swim.htm

And according to this site snails slide or glide

http://www.zephyrus.co.uk/howsnailsmove.html

http://www.zephyrus.co.uk/interestingfactssnails.html

Vincent Teo · Answer

Thanks.

Can I say,

The snail creeps slowly.

Avangi · Answer

optilangAnd according to this site snails slide or glide

Hi, Optilang.

My problem with this is that sliding and gliding are not methods or modes of self-propulsion. One must first acquire kenetic energy in order to slide (run and then slide on the ice) / or potential energy (climb a hill, and then slide down.) One must first acquire potential energy to glide (climb a tree and glide to earth - flying squirrels / get towed by a self-propelled plane to a high altitude, or lifted by a thermal, and then glide to earth - gliders) Perhaps there are definitions of sliding and gliding I've not yet heard. If something is capable of sliding, you should be able to push it along. Snails are stuck to the surface. I think a snail moves by expanding and contracting its foot. I suppose when it "reaches ahead" and then drags itself forward, the dragging could be described as sliding.

If you push a box across the floor, you may describe its movement as a sliding motion, but it would be misleading to use an intransitive verb and say the box slides across the floor.

Fish and snakes glide, but they're propelled by the movement of their bodies (or fins).

Best wishes, - A.

Snail crawls / moves

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