a shortened
form of the
phrase as slow as molasses in January, meaning very slow or sluggish, so as to be
virtually motionless. Molasses is a
type of thick syrup made from sugar that is light to dark
brown in
color. Dating from the nineteenth century, this
phrase is an allusion to the
fact that when molasses is
cold (as it would be if exposed to wintry January weather), it stiffens up and becomes almost unpourable.