expression, noun
snail's pace; very slow progress
Idiomatic expression literally meaning 'ox walk', used to describe something that moves or progresses extremely slowly.
彼の仕事は牛の歩みだ。
His work progresses at a snail's pace.
交渉は牛の歩
The negotiations are making painfully slow progress, like an ox's walk.
From the image of an ox walking slowly and steadily. The exact origin is uncertain, but it is a traditional Japanese idiom.