I came across this word the other day.
chockablock
It is an adverb and an adjective for those who are not familiar with it.
Chockablock.
As an adverb, it means “full,” like chock full.
As an adjective, it means “brought close together” or “very full.”
Like when you say, “The shelves are chockablock with books.”
When I saw this word today, it reminded me of the old black and gold coffee can. The one with the bold letters saying
“Chock Full O’ Nuts.” I always wondered why a coffee brand would be called “Chock Full O’Nuts.”
Well, I looked into that. In the year 1926, a guy named William Black opened his first nut roasting shop, and called it “Chock full o’Nuts®.” This was in New York City on the corner of Broadway and 43rd.
Then, in 1932, they switched to coffee, it seems. You see, after the Great Depression, fancy nuts were a luxury. So that guy, William Black, decided to switch from roasting nuts to roasting coffee beans. And that was when the New York Roasted coffee shops were born. It took just over twenty years after that to get it in the grocery stores, in 1953.
I don’t know that I’ve ever had Chock Full O’Nuts coffee. It doesn’t even sound good to me.
Regardless, it has absolutely nothing to do with “chockablock” except for the “chock” word.
In fact, Chockablock started out as a nautical term.
It goes like this: A block is a metal or wooden case with one or more pulleys inside.
Sometimes, two or more blocks are used as part of a rope and pulley system called a “block and tackle.” It is done this way to provide a mechanical advantage. Like, picture this mechanical scheme when you see someone hoisting a sail on a traditional sailing ship. When the rope is pulled as far as it will go, the blocks are tight together and are said to be chockablock.
Non-nautical types associated the chock in chockablock with chock-full.
Apparently, this goes back to Middle English chokkefull, meaning “full to the limit” (a figurative use of “full to choking”).
We humans thus gave chockablock the additional meaning “filled up.” Or the redundant chockablock full.
If you don’t like this word, which I can understand, here are some synonyms. Because, truthfully, I can’t ever hear myself saying chockablock in a serious conversation with anyone.
brimful
brimming
bursting
chock-full
chockful
crammed
crowded
fat
filled
full
jam-packed
jammed
loaded
packed
stuffed
But I would say “jam-packed.”
Like, this blog is always “jam-packed” with useless information.
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“Enough is not a quantity. It is a state of mind.” – Mary Underwood
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“A person who is full of themselves cannot be open to new ideas.” – Tim Wells
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Satisfaction doesn’t come from what fills your stomach, but from what fills your soul.” – Charles Delaney
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