be doped to the gills

To be thoroughly intoxicated by drugs, especially those prescribed by a doctor, to the point of incoherence or senselessness. I was doped to the gills for about two weeks after my surgery. I'm off the painkillers now, but I still feel pretty out of it. Boy, you were doped to the gills after your procedure. You said something about "purple moon sprinkles" and then couldn't stop laughing. You can't drive while you're taking these medications—you're doped to the gills!

be green about the gills

To be nauseated. After all that drinking last night, I sure am green about the gills today. The steady rocking of the boat caused Colleen to be green about the gills. We were all green about the gills after such a turbulent plane ride.

See also: gill, green

be green around the gills

To be nauseated. After all that drinking last night, I sure am green around the gills today. The steady rocking of the boat caused Colleen to be green around the gills. We were all green around the gills after such a turbulent plane ride.

See also: around, gill, green

be sloshed to the gills

slang To be thoroughly inebriated; to be drunk to the point of incoherence, senselessness, or the loss of self-control. I hate being in New Orleans during Mardi Gras—an appalling number of people are sloshed to the gills! I knew the man would be of no use. It wasn't even noon, and he was already sloshed to the gills. I did karaoke at the bar last night? Wow, I must have been sloshed to the gills!

be stuffed to the gills

To be completely full or teeming; to have no room to spare. I've got so many meetings and deadlines these days that my schedule is stuffed to the gills! Her mind was stuffed to the gills with ideas for her new book. I was stuffed to the gills after my grandmother's Thanksgiving meal.

blue around the gills

1. Nauseated. After all that drinking last night, I sure am blue around the gills today. The steady rocking of the boat caused Colleen to be blue around the gills. We were all blue about the gills after such a turbulent plane ride.

2.slang Drunk. Do you remember last night at the bar at all? You were really blue around the gills! Well, I must have been blue around the gills if I got up and did karaoke at the bar last night! Help him get home, will ya? He started drinking whiskey, and now he's blue around the gills.

doped to the gills

Thoroughly intoxicated by drugs, especially those prescribed by a doctor, to the point of incoherence or senselessness. I was doped to the gills for about two weeks after my surgery. I'm off the painkillers now, but I still feel pretty out of it. Boy, you were doped to the gills after your procedure. You said something about "purple moon sprinkles" and then couldn't stop laughing. You can't drive while you're taking these medications—you're doped to the gills!

fed to the gills

Irritated, exasperated, bored, or disgusted with someone or something. I'm getting really fed to the gills listening to all your complaining! My wife is fed to the gills with our car, but we just can't afford a new one. I'm fed to the gills with this computer—it just crashed again!

fishy about the gills

slang Hung-over. A: "How are you feeling after your night of partying?" B: "Ugh, fishy about the gills—I've been throwing up all morning!" A long night of drinking will leave you feeling fishy about the gills. A: "You turned 21 yesterday? Well, you must feel fishy about the gills today." B: "Yep, sure do. Ugh."

fried to the gills

old-fashioned slang Extremely drunk. Whenever she goes for a night out with her friends, she always comes back fried to the gills. Good luck explaining that to him. You can't talk a lick of sense to Barry when he's fried to the gills like that. Help him get home, will ya? He started drinking whiskey, and now he's fried to the gills.

full to the gills

Completely full; teeming; having no room to spare. I've got so many meetings and deadlines these days that my schedule is full to the gills! Her mind was full to the gills with ideas for her new book. I felt full to the gills after my grandmother's Thanksgiving meal.

green about the gills

Nauseated. After all that drinking last night, I sure am green about the gills today. The steady rocking of the boat caused Colleen to be green about the gills. We were all green about the gills after such a turbulent plane ride.

See also: gill, green

green around the gills

Nauseated. After all that drinking last night, I sure am green around the gills today. The steady rocking of the boat caused Colleen to be green around the gills. We were all green around the gills after such a turbulent plane ride.

See also: around, gill, green

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.

packed to the gills

Completely full; teeming; having no room to spare. I've got so many meetings and deadlines these days that my schedule is packed to the gills! Her mind was packed to the gills with ideas for her new book. I felt packed to the gills after my grandmother's Thanksgiving meal.

pale around the gills

Exceptionally pale, as due to nausea or fear. I get terrible motion sickness, so I'm sure I was a little pale around the gills when I stumbled off the plane. She was really pale around the gills after that car nearly ran into her on the sidewalk.

sloshed to the gills

Thoroughly inebriated; drunk to the point of incoherence, senselessness, or the loss of self-control. I hate being in New Orleans during Mardi Gras—an appalling number of people are sloshed to the gills!

stewed to the gills

old-fashioned slang Extremely drunk. Whenever she goes for a night out with her friends, she always comes back stewed to the gills. Good luck explaining that to him. You can't talk a lick of sense to Barry when he's stewed to the gills like that.

stuffed to the gills

Completely full; teeming; having no room to spare. I've got so many meetings and deadlines these days that my schedule is stuffed to the gills! Her mind was stuffed to the gills with ideas for her new book. I felt stuffed to the gills after my grandmother's Thanksgiving meal.

to the gills

Completely, utterly, or thoroughly. I was doped to the gills for about two weeks after my surgery. I'm off the painkillers now, but I still feel pretty out of it. I've got so many meetings and deadlines these days that my schedule is packed to the gills! We left the all-you-can-eat buffet full to the gills.

up to the gills

Drunk. Boy, you were really up to the gills last night—how hungover do you feel this morning? You're up to the gills, stumbling in here reeking of alcohol!

white around the gills

Pale, typically due to nausea or fear. I get terrible motion sickness, so I'm sure I was a little white around the gills when I stumbled off the plane. I was white around the gills for a while after my brother jumped out of the closet and scared me.

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.

pale around the gills

and blue around the gills; green around the gills

Fig. looking sick. (The around can be replaced with about.) John is looking a little pale around the gills. What's wrong? Oh, I feel a little green about the gills.

fed to the gills

Also, fed to the teeth; fed up. Disgusted, unable or unwilling to put up with something. For example, I'm fed to the gills with these delays (the gills here is slang for "mouth"), or He was fed to the teeth with her excuses, or I'm fed up-let's leave right now. Of these colloquial expressions, fed up, alluding to being overfull from having overeaten, dates from about 1900, and the others from the first half of the 1900s. Also see up to one's ears.

green about the gills

Also, green around the gills. Looking ill or nauseated, as in After that bumpy ride she looked quite green about the gills. The use of green to describe an ailing person's complexion dates from about 1300, and gills has referred to the flesh around human jaws and ears since the 1600s. Although in the 1800s white and yellow were paired with gills to suggest illness, the alliterative green has survived them.

See also: gill, green

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

green around the gills

If someone looks green around the gills, they look ill, as if they are going to vomit. Kenny stumbled out from the washroom looking rather green around the gills. Note: The gills of a fish are the organs it uses to breathe instead of lungs. This is being used as a humorous term for the mouth.

See also: around, gill, green

Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012

green about (or around or at) the gills

looking or feeling ill or nauseous. informal

A person's gills are the fleshy parts between the jaw and the ears: this sense of the word dates from the early 17th century. Other colours are occasionally used to indicate a sickly appearance; much less common is rosy about the gills indicating good health.

See also: gill, green

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

to the ˈgills

(informal) completely full: I was stuffed to the gills with chocolate cake.

Gills are the openings on the side of a fish’s head that it breathes through.

ˌgreen about the ˈgills

(informal) looking or feeling as if you are going to be sick, especially at sea; seasick: You look a bit green about the gills. Go up on deck and get some fresh air.

Gills are the openings on the side of a fish’s head that it breathes through.

See also: gill, green

blue around the gills

and green around the gills

1. mod. ill; nauseated. How about a little air? I feel a little green around the gills.

2. mod. alcohol intoxicated. Marty—now thoroughly green around the gills—slid neatly under the table, and everyone pretended not to notice.

green around the gills

verb

See blue around the gills

See also: around, gill, green

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.

stewed to the gills

and stewed to the ears

mod. alcohol intoxicated. When I get stewed to the gills, I usually fall asleep, right then and there. Here’s old Charlie—stewed to the ears, as always.

to the gills

Informal

As full as possible; completely.

fed to the gills

Thoroughly disgusted. This American version of the earlier British fed to the (back) teeth and fed (up) to the eyelids is based on the slang meaning of gills for the human mouth.

green around the gills

Looking ill; sick to one’s stomach. A green complexion has signified illness since about 1300, and “rosy about the gills” has meant being in good health since the late seventeenth century. Sir Francis Bacon used red about the gills to signify anger (1626), whereas in the nineteenth century white and yellow about the gills meant looking ill. However, green won out and survives in the present-day cliché.

See also: around, gill, green

stewed to the gills

Extremely drunk. The noun gills here has nothing to do with the breathing organs of fish, but rather was slang for a stand-up collar. Consequently to the gills came to mean “up to one’s neck” or “completely,” and in the early 1900s stewed, for soaked in liquor, was added.