The English language is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re going to get. Today, I’m pulling out the phrase chock full and having a good look at it. But first things first, let’s clarify that it’s chock full, not chalk full, and certainly not chocked full or chalked full. Chalk may be full of learning potential, but it has nothing to do with this phrase. Let’s get to it!
Chock Full Meaning Explained
If I say something is chock full, I mean it’s crammed or filled to its absolute capacity. Imagine your grandma’s antique closet, chock full of knick-knacks, or a pie chock full of apples. It’s about abundance, baby!
Now, you can apply this to both physical and non-physical things, like if you ate too much pasta, you could say you’re chock full of penne, and if a kid is excited for their birthday, you could say they’re chock full of excitement.
Chock-Full: Should It Be Hyphenated?
Okay, both chock full and chock-full can be used. The hyphenated version tends to pop up more frequently when the phrase is used as an adjective before a noun. For example, you might have a chock-full closet, but your closet is chock full of clothes. Make sense?
When to Use Chocked Full or Chock Full
Remember, chock full is the phrase you’re after. Chocked full is simply an incorrect variation that’s been used so much that you’ll find versions of it floating around. Chocks are used to keep wheels in place, but they’ve got nothing to do with our phrase.
The Etymology of Chock Full
The term chock originally came from the Old Northern French word choque, meaning a block. The phrase chock full emerged from the 14th-century term chokkeful, meaning full to the limit. So, when you use chock full, you’re participating in a linguistic tradition that’s been going strong for centuries! Cool, right?
Synonyms for Chock Full
Spruce up your language with these alternatives to the term chock full.
- Bursting
- Brimming
- Overflowing
- Packed
- Stuffed
Chock Full Examples in a Sentence
You can use the expression in a few ways, so here are some sentences showing you how to apply it.
- My schedule is chock full of meetings and phone calls today.
- I found an old suitcase chock-full of Grandma’s photographs in the attic.
- The restaurant served us a chock-full platter of delicious food from the area.
- The author’s mind was chock full of ideas for the new manuscript she was working on.
- My daughter is an artist, so her bedroom is chock full of paint, pens, marks, and paper.
A Full Stop on Chock Full
There you have it; that’s the lowdown on chock full. Language is a delightful adventure, so why not fill your linguistic journey to the brim with interesting phrases? Next time you want to talk about abundance, reach into your chock-full collection of phrases you’ve learned from me and pull out chock full.
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