to overflowing en · X
Meanings
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(idiomatic) So as to be absolutely full.
It is no use gaily arranging for large hauls of coal to converge on a Scunthorpe steelworks if the latter's sidings are already full to overflowing, and many sizeable traders are therefore advised each morning of traffic that is in the railway pipeline for them, to ascertain if they are able to receive it.
1962 August, G. Freeman Allen, “Traffic control on the Great Northern Line”, in Modern Railways, page 129:And she is lovely. She is all I wanted. She filled me up to overflowing and I never got back on my feet.
2020 February 3, Jayne Tuttle, “Stopping at one child: 'Every parent feels there's more they could give'”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 30 Apr 2022:The train was full to overflowing, and the doors would barely shut.
In reality, 7 Middagh was sensationally cluttered, stuffed to overflowing with Americana, which reflected something essential about [George] Davis, who was a collector of all things weird, including people.
2012 May 28, John Lahr, “The Gang’s All Here”, in The New Yorker, New York, N.Y.: Condé Nast Publications, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 24 Mar 2023:
Relateds
packed · overcrowded · to the brim · overfull · jam-packed · full to the gills