Η ουρά στο υποκατάστημα ήταν τόσο μεγάλη, λες και όλοι είχαν πάει εκεί την ίδια ώρα.

Yes, ουρά literally means tail, but in Greek it also very commonly means queue/line, just like English can use line in a figurative way.

So:

• η ουρά = the tail
• η ουρά = the queue / the line

In this sentence, Η ουρά στο υποκατάστημα means The line at the branch office.

This is completely normal everyday Greek.

στο is a contraction of σε + το.

• σε = in, at, to
• το = the
• στο = at the / in the / to the

So:

• στο υποκατάστημα = at the branch office / in the branch office

υποκατάστημα usually means branch, especially of a bank, company, public service, or large store.

So the phrase means:

• the queue at the branch office
• depending on context, possibly at the branch or at the local branch

Greek often uses μεγάλος / μεγάλη / μεγάλο where English prefers long.

So:

• μεγάλη ουρά = literally big queue
• but natural English translation = long queue

This is just a normal difference between the languages. In Greek, η ουρά ήταν τόσο μεγάλη sounds very natural.

Also note the agreement:

• ουρά is feminine singular
• so the adjective must also be feminine singular: μεγάλη

τόσο means so, so much, or that in this kind of structure.

Here it intensifies the adjective:

• τόσο μεγάλη = so big / so long

It often introduces a result or comparison:

• ήταν τόσο μεγάλη, λες και...
• it was so long, as if...

So τόσο sets up the exaggeration that follows.

Literally, λες is the 2nd person singular of λέω (to say) — so yes, on its own it means you say. But in the fixed expression λες και, you should learn it as a chunk.

λες και means:

• as if
• as though
• sometimes it’s as if

So in this sentence:

• λες και όλοι είχαν πάει εκεί την ίδια ώρα
• as if everyone had gone there at the same time

It often introduces something exaggerated, vivid, or only apparently true.

Examples:

• Κάνει λες και δεν με ξέρει. = He acts as if he doesn’t know me.
• Έτρεχε λες και τον κυνηγούσαν. = He was running as if they were chasing him.

So don’t analyze it too literally here; treat λες και as a common expression.

είχαν πάει is the pluperfect (past perfect), meaning had gone.

• πήγαν = they went
• είχαν πάει = they had gone

In this sentence, the pluperfect creates the idea of an already completed action that explains the situation in the past:

• Η ουρά ... ήταν τόσο μεγάλη = the queue was so long
• λες και όλοι είχαν πάει εκεί την ίδια ώρα = as if everyone had gone there at the same time

Greek often uses the pluperfect in this kind of as if description to refer to a prior completed event that would explain the visible result.

That said, learners should know that Greek does not use the pluperfect as often as English does in every context. But here it sounds very natural.

It is formed with:

• είχαν = imperfect of έχω (they had)
• πάει = the non-finite perfect form of πηγαίνω / πάω

So:

• έχω πάει = I have gone / I have been
• είχα πάει = I had gone
• είχαν πάει = they had gone

This is the normal modern Greek way to form the perfect and pluperfect with many verbs.

όλοι means everyone / all of them in the masculine plural form, which is also the default form for a mixed group or for people in general.

So:

• όλοι = everyone / all (masculine or mixed)
• όλες = all (feminine only)

Since the sentence just means everyone, Greek uses όλοι unless you specifically mean an all-female group.

εκεί means there.

So:

• είχαν πάει εκεί = had gone there

It points back to the branch office and makes the image more explicit.

Yes, the sentence could still work without it:

• λες και όλοι είχαν πάει την ίδια ώρα

That would still be understandable. But εκεί helps anchor the action to that specific place and sounds very natural.

την ίδια ώρα is in the accusative, and here it functions adverbially to express time.

Breakdown:

• την = the (feminine accusative singular)
• ίδια = same (feminine accusative singular)
• ώρα = hour / time (feminine accusative singular)

So literally it is the same hour, but idiomatically it means:

• at the same time

This is a very common Greek expression:

• Ήρθαμε την ίδια ώρα. = We arrived at the same time.

Because ήταν refers to η ουρά (the queue), not to όλοι (everyone).

The subject of the main clause is:

• Η ουρά = the queue

So the verb must be singular:

• Η ουρά ήταν... = The queue was...

The later clause has a different subject:

• όλοι είχαν πάει... = everyone had gone...

So the sentence has two clauses with two different subjects.

It is basically normal and natural Greek word order.

Structure:

• Η ουρά στο υποκατάστημα = subject + location
• ήταν τόσο μεγάλη = verb + description
• λες και όλοι είχαν πάει εκεί την ίδια ώρα = comparison/exaggeration clause

Greek word order is more flexible than English, but this version is very standard and smooth. It presents the scene first, then adds the dramatic comparison.

A more literal map would be:

• The queue at the branch was so long, as if everyone had gone there at the same time.

Yes, in many contexts σαν να can also mean as if.

For example:

• Η ουρά ήταν τόσο μεγάλη, σαν να είχαν πάει όλοι εκεί την ίδια ώρα.

This is also natural.

A small nuance:

• σαν να is a very common neutral way to say as if
• λες και can feel a bit more vivid, conversational, or emphatic

Both are common, but λες και gives the sentence a slightly more expressive tone.

It is neutral to slightly conversational.

Nothing in it is slangy, and it is perfectly acceptable in standard Greek. The only part that makes it feel a bit more lively and spoken is λες και.

So you could hear or read this sentence in:

• everyday conversation
• a news-like description
• a written narrative
• an informal article or post

It is not overly formal, but it is absolutely standard Greek.