Crossword Genius

Travel slowly along the ground, in a cab, say? (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

taxi

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'travel slowly' is the definition.
(synonyms)

'along the ground in a cab say?' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'the' could be 't' (the is pronounced as a 't' sound in some dialects) and 't' is found within the answer.
'a' is found in the answer.
The remaining letters 'xi' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for taxi that I've seen before include "Cab for hire" , "(Plane) roll over tarmac" , "Prepare to fly" , "Hired vehicle" , "use apron" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish Times.
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