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Phrase: To the gills
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
Considering that Japan is an island and seafood plays a central part in Japanese cuisine, to the gills is a phrase all Japanese should at least be familiar with, even if they don’t use it often.
First, you need to know that gills are the organs fish have on either side of their heads and use to breathe.
Next, after eating a splendid meal, a person may say they are full to the gills, meaning they are completely full.
To the gills is just a phrase, and people tend to use various verbs with it.
For example, in my home, during the winter months, Friday night is nabe or hotpot night.
I L-O-V-E nabe!
It’s my second favourite meal after homemade pizza.
Therefore, it goes without saying that I am stuffed to the gills every Friday evening after suppertime is over.
Ah, regularly eating nabe is one of the great joys of living in Japan.
In addition to ‘stuffed,’ you could also use ‘packed.’
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Right now, the coronavirus is taking its toll on restaurants because gathering in crowded spaces while not wearing a surgical mask is a proven way to spread the virus.
However, once this pandemic subsides, the restaurants will be packed to the gills.
Yes, we can use today’s phrase with things.
Soon, restaurants will be packed to the gills, with people full to the gills enjoying their newfound freedom and peace of mind.
Sure, stuffing yourself to the gills is not healthy, and the Japanese language has an expression that says you should only eat until you are 80% full, but hey, don’t be a party pooper.
Eat, drink and be merry.
Stuff yourself to the gills and worry about the calories tomorrow – or never.
How about we do that, huh?
Flesch-Kincaid Readability Test
This post is understandable by someone with at least a 7th-grade education (age 12).
On the Flesch-Kincaid reading-ease test, this post scores 72.
The easier a passage is to read, the higher the score on a scale of 0 – 100.