brimful

• IPA^(key): /ˈbɹɪmfʊl/

From brim +‎ -ful.

brimful (not comparable)

1. Filled to maximum capacity.
   • [1611?], Homer, “(please specify |book=I to XXIV)”, in Geo[rge] Chapman, transl., The Iliads of Homer Prince of Poets. […], London: […] Nathaniell Butter, →OCLC; republished as The Iliads of Homer, Prince of Poets, […], new edition, volume (please specify the book number), London: Charles Knight and Co., […], 1843, →OCLC:

     So weighty was the cup, / That being propos'd brimful of wine, one scarce could lift it up.

     The spelling has been modernized.

   • 1887, Alice Price, A Wilful Young Woman‎^[1], Hurst and Blackett, pages 290-291:

     And better still come back cried Sydney (how often she remembered that valediction later on!). And then she hovered, as blithe as a bee, about the doctor, beguiHug him into tales of when he and his Moll were young, and what a pretty woman she was, till by-and-by Mary came smiliug back, reporting her mother gone off looking better already, and an eloquent clasp of Sydney's fingers sent the girl away so brimful of contentment she could almost have cried for gratitude over her golden thousands.

   • 1890, George Edward Gee, The Silversmith's Handbook‎^[2], Crosby Lockwood and Son, page 2:

     “The volume is an exceedingly useful one, brimful with engineer's notes, memoranda, and rules, and well worthy of being on every mechanical engineer's bookshelf.” “Brimful of useful information, stated in a concise form, Mr. Hutton's books have met a pressing want among engineers. The book must prove extremely useful to every practical man possessing a copy.”

   • 1972, Julia Ward Howe, Woman's Work in America‎^[3], Arno Press, Henry Holt and Company, page 120:

     A still more recent New England production is the book of stories by Mary E. Wilkins, ‘‘A Humble Romance’’; vigorous work, brimful of human nature.

From brim +‎ -ful.

brimful (plural brimfuls)

1. The maximum amount a container can hold.
   • 2001, P. Koslowski, The Origin and the Overcoming of Evil and Suffering in the World Religions, Springer Science & Business Media, →ISBN, page 17:

     If the glass is cracked, it cannot contain a brimful of water; and if and only if the water is calm enough, it can reflect the moon in the sky without distortion.

   • 2012, Thaddeus Hatter, Malice in Wonderland: What Every Law Student Should Have for the Trip, The Fine Print Press, →ISBN:

     As I listened to the words as they were coming out of my mouth, I realized that I sounded like Ozzy Osborne after three brimfuls of Merlot and a handful of Vicodin .

2. (figurative) A large amount.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:lot

   • 1997, Tjinder Singh, “Brimful Of Asha”, performed by Cornershop:

     Brimful of Asha on the forty-five / Well, it's a brimful of Asha on the forty-five

   • 2002, Hayley Ann Solomon, A Scandalous Connection, Kensington Publishing Corp., →ISBN:

     Such a suggestion—even a timid one in her own head—would have been met with a brimful of scorn.