stuffed to the gills
Meaning
Extremely full from eating; having eaten too much.
Origin
From the image of a fish packed full up to its gills; by the 19th century it was used figuratively for being extremely full (often after a meal).
Notes
Informal and slightly humorous hyperbole, used mainly after eating to say you’re very full. Less suitable for formal writing.
Examples
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After the buffet, we were stuffed to the gills and could barely walk back to the car.
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I shouldn’t have ordered dessert—I was already stuffed to the gills.
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The kids came home from grandma’s house stuffed to the gills with cookies and cake.
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He ate two burritos and a large fries, then complained he was stuffed to the gills.
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By the time the appetizers arrived, I was stuffed to the gills from all the free bread.
Grammar & Usage Notes
Usually used with forms of “be” (I’m/We’re stuffed to the gills). Fairly fixed wording; sometimes shortened to “stuffed.”
Synonyms
- stuffed
- full
- sated
- bloated (more negative)
- fed up (UK; can also mean annoyed)
Antonyms
- hungry
- peckish