chockablock

Etymology

From chock + -a- + block.

adj

1. (nautical, of a ship's hoisting tackle) Having the blocks drawn close together so no further movement is possible, as when the tackle is hauled to the utmost.
2. (by extension) Jammed tightly together, jam-packed; very crowded; completely filled or stuffed.
   Dance music is chockablock with anonymous artists, but few have concealed themselves with quite the dedication of the Knife. 2009-03-27, Alexis Petridis, “Electronic review: Fever Ray, Fever Ray”, in The Guardian
   Haberman’s book is chockablock with scoops, comprehensively leaked to the press before publication, but what singles it out from the competition is its perceptiveness about Trump’s character and the way his private vices became public menaces. 2022-10-09, Peter Conrad, “Confidence Man: The Making of Trump and the Breaking of America review[…]”, in The Observer

adv

1. In a crowded manner; as completely or closely as possible.
   His study had books stacked chockablock on every shelf.
   The meeting hall was chockablock full of angry citizens.
   AMERICA is full of vast, empty spaces. Europe, by contrast, seems chock-a-block with humanity, its history shaped by a lack of continental elbowroom. Oct 13, 2012, “Free exchange: Concrete gains”, in The Economist