to overflowing

English

Phrase

to overflowing

1. (idiomatic) So as to be absolutely full.

   The train was full to overflowing, and the doors would barely shut.

   • 1962 August, G. Freeman Allen, “Traffic control on the Great Northern Line”, in Modern Railways, page 129:

     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.

   • 2012 May 28, John Lahr, “The Gang’s All Here”, in The New Yorker‎^[1], New York, N.Y.: Condé Nast Publications, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-03-24:

     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.

   • 2020 February 3, Jayne Tuttle, “Stopping at one child: 'Every parent feels there's more they could give'”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian‎^[2], London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2022-04-30:

     And she is lovely. She is all I wanted. She filled me up to overflowing and I never got back on my feet.

See also

• full to the gills
• jam-packed
• overcrowded
• overfull
• packed
• to the brim

 

Further reading

• “to overflowing”, in Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, 1999–present.