snake

言うまでもなく、"snake"とは蛇（ヘビ）のことですが、人の行列を表現する時に使われる表現でもあります。

先週末、アメリカはThanksgiving holidays（感謝祭）でしたが、国内を移動する旅行客で大混雑する時期でもあります。特に空港ではセキュリティチェックを受ける旅行客の待ち行列が1.2マイル（約1.93キロ、つまり2キロ近く）に及んだとか。


CHICAGO — The security line at Chicago’s Midway International Airport reached more than a mile long Sunday morning as tens of thousands of people attempted to return home from Thanksgiving trips.

Lines stretched all the way out of the airport to the commuter train stop before snaking back on themselves again, witnesses said. Denise Whitaker of Seattle news station KOMO 4 used her long wait to map the line, which she said measured 1.2 miles long.

Many people posted photos documenting the extreme waits on social media. There were multiple reports of travelers missing flights.

The Transportation Security Agency and other officials acknowledged the long lines, but said that wait times had returned to normal by 10 a.m.
(WATCH: Security line at Chicago airport reaches 1.2 miles long Sunday. FOX31 Denver. November 30, 2014.)


"snake"には、蛇のようにうねる、くねくねする、という動詞の意味がありますが、人の並ぶ行列が折り返しになって、あたかも蛇がくねるように見える様を表現したのが、上記の引用です。

USA Today紙では下記のように報道されています。


Lines there stretched for more than a mile early on Sunday, according to Chicago-area media outlets. The queue to pass through Midway's Transportation Security Administration checkpoints snaked through the airport and out to the Chicago Transit Authority's Orange Line train station for several hours Sunday morning.
(Ben Mutzabaugh. Fliers tell of mile-long security line in Chicago on Sunday. USA Today. November 30, 2014.)


せっかくのホリデーシーズンなのに出発前から疲れたことでしょう。