I Just Learned Why We Say 'Chock-A-Block', And It's Surprisingly Technical

We’ve written before at HuffPost UK about what the “egg” in “eggnog” really means, as well as why we say “under the weather” and “pardon my French.” 

But completing today’s Wordle made me wonder ― why do we say “chock-a-block” when something’s rammed to the rafters?

In fact, what does “chock” even mean? I never hear it used in any other context. 

The Merriam-Webster dictionary seems to have answers, though. 

“Though it is now more often used by landlubbers, chockablock has a nautical history,” they write.

Why?

A chock refers to a literal barrier that you place against something like the side of a boat to keep it from moving. 

You can have them on sea or on land ― a chock placed against a tyre can keep it from rolling away for instance. But that doesn’t explain the term. 

Merriam-Webster explains that “chock-a-block” comes from an analogy sailors used when hoisting traditional sails. 

A block and tackle system was sometimes used to lift the sails up using a range of pulleys. 

There’s a point when the rope goes as far as it’s going to go when using this system, and seamen were reminded of the braking effect chocks had on their boat when they reached this point. 

Hence “chock-a-block” was born. 

Non-seafarers ended up conflating the sailor’s term with the Middle English word chokkefull, which meant “full to the limit” and likely came from the idea that something, or someone, was full to the point of choking. 

So “chock-full” and “chock-a-block” came to mean the same thing, both of which describe the state of your tube on a Wednesday morning.

Do we still use chocks?

Yes! They’re really common in airports, for instance, where they’re placed against the enormous vehicle’s wheels. 

They’re usually made from wood or rubber, aviation site GlobeAir shared.

Airport worker and TikTok user @lifeis2enjoy shared a video of them on the app. 

The triangular rubber tool was a little bit reminiscent of the nameplate my headmaster had on his desk in school, though this one weighs “25-30 pounds.”

Chocks are placed both in the front and the back of the wheels, though “when it’s windy or we have really bad weather we put two chocks” on each side of the wheels, the airport worker said.

Who knew there was so much behind the word?