slow study

noun slow studies

1. US, idiomatic One who takes a long time to learn or understand things; a slow learner. I used to write as slow as judgment; now I write rather fast; but I am still 'a slow study,' and sit along while silent on my eggs. Unconscious thought, there is the only method: macerate your subject, let it boil slow, then take the lid off and look in —and there your stuff is, good or bad.

   Opposite: quick study

2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see slow, study.