Hurry up and wait

"Hurry up and wait" is a humorous phrase used to refer to the situation in which one is forced to hurry in order to complete a certain task, or arrive at a certain destination, by a specified time; only for nothing to happen at that time, often because other required tasks are still awaiting completion. The phrase may have originated in the United States military in the 1940s.  Many U.S. military veterans, in particular, consider this phrase to be synonymous with military culture.

See also
Project management
Film industry
Audio engineering
Parkinson's law — in other contexts, work expands to fill the time available

References

Category:Military slang and jargon
Category:English phrases
Category:Words and phrases introduced in the 1940s