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By "lengthening" I mean unnecessarily taking too much time to express a subject. I am looking for a single word that will replace lengthen. I am sure there is a colloquial term for this; at least in high school world.

The need arose when I finished an online video course about how to write unit tests in React using Jest which was supposed to be highly technical.

It took 4 hours of course time (8 hours of real time). During the course, the instructor talked about Shakespeare, Mark Twain, and other irrelevant subjects. Even with relevant topics, the instructor unnecessarily lengthened them.

At the end, the learning platform reasonably asked for my feedback. I would say the whole course could easily be made at most in 30 minutes. So, I want to give one-liner feedback:

The instructor "lengthened" it too much

Thank you all..

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    Maybe you want the phrasal verb drag out, as in "the instructor dragged out the topic too much."
    – Canadian Yankee
    Commented Dec 7, 2021 at 3:56
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    "To protract" would be a good substitute. It has a negative connotation. But the word is uncommonly used so using it naturally is difficult. It might make many Americans remember funny devices called "protractors" used for high school math and make them smile.
    – reqkuma
    Commented Dec 7, 2021 at 5:19
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    Very informally, the instructor really milked it [for all it was worth].
    – Jack O'Flaherty
    Commented Dec 7, 2021 at 9:49

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"Drag out" as in "the instructor dragged out the topic" is quite casual.

More formal is "protract", "The instructor protracted his course unnecessarily"

"Milked" is casual, or slang. To "milk" something means to take maximum advantage of a situation (eg by making it last a long time)

"Waffled" means to speak for a long time in a vague manner, without getting to the the point. "The instructor waffled about Shakespeare"

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