Chock-full

Chock-full Chock-full Chock-full By Maeve Maddox A reader came across the following sentence in an online advertisement for a local homeschool conference: Enjoy a day chalk full of speakers and vendors while you are there! She speculated that the misspelling of chalk for chock could have been intentional, given the nature of the conference, but decided that it was just an error and that the writer had intended to invite readers to a day chock-full of speakers and vendors. The person who wrote the ad probably pronounces chalk /CHAWK/ to rhyme with rock /ROK/. The expression chock-full means â€Å"filled so as to leave no vacant space; cram-full; stuffed full; full to suffocation.† The expression has been in English with different spellings since the 15th century. Modern dictionaries, such as the OED and Merriam-Webster, give chock-full as the main form and choke-full as a variant. The Ngram Viewer shows chock-full taking the lead in printed books in the 1830s and choke-full plunging toward flat-lining in the 20th century. Not always spelled according to the dictionary standard (chock-full), the expression is popular in headlines and articles about various subjects: Yesterday, NBC  announced  a schedule that will be chock full of brand new programming. Those in attendance will get a hands-on preview of Little Orbit’s hot fall lineup chock full of popular franchises including  Disney Planes. The FMC Tower Will Be Chock-Full of 268 AKA Residences You can tell blueberries are chockfull of antioxidants because of their dark color. Get ready for a weekend  chock-full  of Indian River Lagoon water activities   The new federal budget is chock-full of goodies for pollutocrats Centuries-Old Shipwreck Chock-Full Of Gold Found Off Finnish Coast Note: Another misspelling of chock-full is chuck-full: This November, South Dakota’s ballot will be chuck full of choices.- South Dakota government site. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Fly, Flew, (has) FlownFlied?Italicizing Foreign Words20 Ways to Laugh