stop traffic

stop traffic (third-person singular simple present stops traffic, present participle stopping traffic, simple past and past participle stopped traffic)

1. (informal) To attract astonished admiration, especially by being stunningly physically attractive.
   • 1998 February 2, Adam Begley, “Amis Talks American, Takes a Metaphysical Meander”, in Observer‎^[1], archived from the original on 2022-10-20:

     She was brilliant and gorgeous, apparently happy and fulfilled, a 28-year-old astrophysicist with a body that stopped traffic and a sweet temperament.

   • 2005, Fannie Harris, Tc: L.O.T., page 11:

     "Girl, you have a body that can stop traffic! I knew that my baby look ^[sic] good, but WOW!"

   • 2020, Elle Kennedy, The Dare:

     The designer clothes, the waves and waves of blonde hair, a face that could stop traffic.

2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see stop,‎ traffic.
   • 2022 January 29, Joel Dryden, “Protest convoy continues to block traffic to U.S. border: RCMP”, in CBC News‎^[2], archived from the original on 2022-11-04:

     RCMP say a large demonstration continues to block off Highway 4 in southern Alberta on Sunday morning near the village of Coutts, Alta., largely stopping traffic to and from the Canada-United States border crossing.

• Generally used with could or can, as shown in the quotations.

• traffic stopper