loaded to the gills

loaded to the gills

1. Completely full; teeming; having no room to spare. I've got so many meetings and deadlines these days that my schedule is loaded to the gills! Her mind was loaded to the gills with ideas for her new book. My stomach felt loaded to the gills after my grandmother's Thanksgiving meal.
2. Thoroughly intoxicated with drugs or alcohol, especially to the point of incoherence, senselessness, or the loss of self-control. I hate being in New Orleans during Mardi Gras—everyone just getting loaded to the gills for a week solid. I was loaded to the gills with painkillers for about two weeks after my surgery. I'm off the meds now, but I still feel pretty out of it.
See also: gill, loaded
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

loaded to the gills

 and loaded to the barrel
Sl. intoxicated. He's loaded to the gills. Man, he's loaded to the barrel and fighting mad.
See also: gill, loaded
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

loaded to the gills

and loaded to the barrel
mod. alcohol intoxicated. He’s loaded to the gills. Couldn’t see a hole in a ladder. Those guys are loaded to the barrel and are getting mean.
See also: gill, loaded
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
See also:
  • packed to the gills
  • stuffed to the gills
  • be stuffed to the gills
  • full to the gills
  • packed to the rafters
  • rafter
  • filled to the brim
  • full to the brim
  • up to the gills
  • and to spare
References in periodicals archive
It did come loaded to the gills with kit, though, having everything from a panoramic sunroof to heated rear seats, heated and cooled front seats, USB ports in second and third rows of seats, leather upholstery and a rear camera.
Driving with the Disco Sport; Jack McKeown gets all the bells and whistles of the new SUV from Land Rover
The C3 is a funky supermini loaded to the gills with the latest tech that seems sure to appeal to motorists young and old.
Citroen brings the Flair with all-new C3
All three fit into short bolt actions, and all three are loaded to the gills. Technically, the 6.5x55 has more case capacity for handloaders than the .260 Rem.
Splitting hairs: comparing American and European cartridge counterparts gets down to the fine details
And actually, most of the "magnum" ammo in the old days was loaded to the gills, so finding a modern load which is more modest is easier.
.357 Magnum loads
So it was with some surprise that I discovered the SE model's on-theroad price is a shade under PS16,000 - excellent for a compact SUV crossover loaded to the gills with kit.
Going Korando! TEST DRIVE SSANGYONG KORANDO
We traveled many miles on those bikes, taking them to places they had no right to go, but they got us there and back, every time, loaded to the gills with camping gear, fishing rods, and .22s.
Wheels afield
The diesel in this top trim looks even smarter and is loaded to the gills. The motor is a smooth operator, offers ample grunt lower down and this makes it easy to drive.
IN COMES THE DIESEL
They are loaded to the gills with apps including dictionaries, games, instructional texts and a national encyclopedia.
Cellphones Can Spark Change In North Korea
Send every B-52 and B-1 that can fly, all loaded to the gills, over ISIS's capital, the small city of Raqqa in Syria, and latten the place.
Can we hurt the Islamic state? Punitive raids won't destroy ISIS--but they don't have to
When the Camry is loaded to the gills, the cars are very comparable and comparably equipped.
Car Talk suggests a few 'fun' car ideas
Because of Muir's foresight, base jumpers can now throw themselves oft Half Dome without fear of being hit immediately after landing by a logging truck going 80 miles an hour loaded to the gills with the finest pine logs in the land.
Not a dead fish: alternatives swims through the homogeneity of contemporary culture eliciting surprise and causing consternation
One night I traveled south from Dallas to the Rio Grande Valley on a plane that was loaded to the gills with massive bags of silver dollars from the U.S.
Just ask Talley: what was it like to train pilots to fly on instruments during wartime? Here's an inside view, complete with the cheap tequila
With a full complement, and loaded to the gills, it would have sacrificed some vigour, but still offer decent performance.
Scenic route; in association with fish4 a matter of OPINION
Loaded to the gills with incendiaries, the Superforts conduct the most devastating raid of all, worse even than what will come to Hiroshima in August, obliterating 16 square residential miles in Tokyo and killing 85,000 civilians.
To the White Sea
The four-song EP has two versions of "Loaded to the Gills," "Loaded Back," mad "Function Underground." Super stylin' ...
Notes from the underground