Chockablock

Word of the Day for Saturday, June 23, 2012

chockablock \CHOK-uh-BLOK\, adjective:

1. Extremely full; crowded; jammed.
2. Nautical. Having the blocks drawn close together, as when the tackle is hauled to the utmost.

adverb:
1. In a crowded manner: books piled chockablock on the narrow shelf.

This town is chockablock with restaurants that are just clones of the same old themes.
-- Amy Tan, The Joy Luck Club

lf opossum and skunk and raccoon can hide there, survive there, year after year, decade after decade, almost in the middle of a teeming metropolitan chockablock, think how an enterprising monkey might fare.
-- Tom Robbins, Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas

Chockablock is of uncertain origin. It is likely related to the word chock-full which means "crammed". The word chock refers to a wooden block that holds something in place.

Thanks to: www.dictionary.com