Do these two sentences sound well?

[dilodi83]

Do these sentences sound well?

1) The traffic was held up on the motorway because of an accident.
2) There was an hold-up on the motorway because of an accident.

Do you think one in particular would sound more natural than the other one?

[Gillnetter]

Do these sentences sound well?

1) The traffic was held up on the motorway because of an accident. OK
2) There was an hold-up on the motorway because of an accident. This sounds as though there was a robbery committed on the motorway - A "hold-up" is American slang for an armed robbery.

Do you think one in particular would sound more natural than the other one?

Gil

[iKitty]

NOT A TEACHER

...however, in UK English, number two is arguably the more natural of the two in speech. There's a hold-up on the M1 is heard pretty much every half hour on traffic bulletins on live radio and TV, and means there has been a traffic accident, breakdown or police incident. It just depends on where you are speaking, there are huge differences in the way English is used around the world!

[bhaisahab]

It's "a hold-up" not "an hold-up", dilodi.