Slow on the uptake means taking longer than others to understand. A bit slow on the uptake.
To call somebody slow on the uptake is mild and still a criticism. Anybody who is slow on the uptake in a joke is the last to laugh.
1phraseslow on the uptakeTaking longer than others to understand.
“He was slow on the uptake and thorough once he got there.”
slow on the uptake is a phrase.
Practised in Idioms