be bulging at the seams

slang To be overly crowded. Because of all the delays this morning, the train station is bulging at the seams. Good luck finding a place to sit! I'm sure the mall is bulging at the seams today, it's Christmas Eve! I know this place is bulging at the seams right now, but just push through the crowds!

be bursting at the seams

slang To be overly crowded. Because of all the delays this morning, the train station is bursting at the seams. Good luck finding a place to sit! I'm sure the mall is bursting at the seams today, it's Christmas Eve! I know this place is bursting at the seams right now, but just push through the crowds!

See also: burst, seam

be coming apart at the seams

1. To be approaching failure. Boy, this party is really coming apart at the seams. First, there was the issue with the caterer, and now half the guests aren't coming. I'm telling you, our society is coming apart at the seams anymore! Our championship hopes are coming apart at the seams now that we've fallen behind by so many points.

2. To become very emotional. Jane was coming apart at the seams even before the funeral service, so I'm not sure that she'll make it through the whole thing. She's a toddler—who knows why she's coming apart at the seams right now? Mom's really coming apart at the seams. Oh no, you guys watched one of those sappy movies again, didn't you?

burst at the seams

slang

1. To be overly crowded. Because of all the delays this morning, the train station is bursting at the seams. Good luck finding a place to sit! I'm sure the mall is bursting at the seams today, it's Christmas Eve! I know this place is bursting at the seams right now, but just push through the crowds!

2. To try to contain a strong feeling or impulse. When I saw your text, I practically burst at the seams trying not to laugh at it in the middle of the theater. I'm so sorry to burp at the dinner table like that—I was just bursting at the seams. I'm devastated that Janine is leaving the company. I nearly burst at the seams holding back tears when she told me.

See also: burst, seam

come apart at the seams

1. To be approaching failure. Boy, this party is really coming apart at the seams. First, there was the issue with the caterer, and now half the guests aren't coming. Their marriage eventually came apart at the seams after he discovered that his wife was having an affair. I thought I would be able to get a lot of people to sign my petition, but things are really coming apart at the seams now. I'll be lucky if I can scrounge up 10 signatures!

2. To become very emotional. Poor Jane really came apart at the seams during the funeral service. I can't watch those sappy movies because I just come apart at the seams every time. A: "What's all that commotion in the background?" B: "Oh, just my toddler coming apart at the seams about one thing or another."

See also: apart, come, seam

fall apart

1. Literally, to break into pieces. Don't stand on that rickety old chair—it's liable to fall apart at any moment. The cookie was so soft that it just fell apart in my hands. Hold that mechanism carefully so it doesn't fall apart—it's a chore to assemble it.

2. To be approaching failure. Boy, this party is really falling apart. First, there was the issue with the caterer, and now half the guests aren't coming. Their marriage eventually fell apart after he discovered that his wife was having an affair. I thought I would be able to get a lot of people to sign my petition, but things are really falling apart now. I'll be lucky if I can scrounge up 10 signatures!

3. To become very emotional, especially with sadness or grief. Poor Jane really fell apart during the funeral service. I can't watch those sappy movies because I just fall apart every time. A: "What's all that commotion in the background?" B: "Oh, just my toddler falling apart about one thing or another."

See also: apart, fall

fall apart at the seams

1. To be approaching failure. Boy, this party is really falling apart at the seams. First, there was the issue with the caterer, and now half the guests aren't coming. Their marriage eventually fell apart at the seams after he discovered that his wife was having an affair. I thought I would be able to get a lot of people to sign my petition, but things are really falling apart at the seams now. I'll be lucky if I can scrounge up 10 signatures!

2. To become very emotional, especially with sadness or grief. Poor Jane really fell apart at the seams during the funeral service. I can't watch those sappy movies because I just fall apart at the seams every time. A: "What's all that commotion in the background?" B: "Oh, just my toddler falling apart at the seams about one thing or another."

rich seam

A multifaceted topic that provides a lot of interesting material for discussion or writing. Judy's childhood experiences were a rich seam for her as she wrote her first novel.

seam (something) with (something)

1. To create a seam on something by joining two edges or pieces with a particular tool, material, method, etc. She seamed the sleeves of the frock with golden thread. I had to seam the material with cable ties until I could find a more permanent solution.

2. To create a line in, through, or around something with something in the manner of a seam. The kids seamed the carpet of white snow with their footprints as they trudged across the field. The sun seamed the clouds with sunlight, creating a radiant outline around them.

seam-squirrel

A louse that has infested clothing or linens. Typically used in the plural. No way am I staying in such a crappy motel! Their beds are probably crawling with seam-squirrels! Our uniforms were so thoroughly infested with seam-squirrels that there was nothing left to do but burn them.

burst at the seams

1. Fig. to be very full and burst, perhaps at the seams. (Alludes to something that would burst at the seams if overfilled.) I am so full from dinner! I'm ready to burst at the seams. The room was so full it was bursting at the seams.

2. Fig. [for someone] to strain from holding in pride or laughter as if one might burst. Tom nearly burst at the seams with pride. We laughed so hard we just about burst at the seams.

See also: burst, seam

fall apart (at the seams)

and come apart at the seams

1. . Lit. [for something] to break apart where its parts are joined. The dress fell apart at the seams. I wouldn't have thought that a coat that cost that much money would just come apart at the seams.

2. Fig. to break down mentally. Tom works too much and finally fell apart. Poor Ralph simply fell apart at the seams.

See also: apart, fall

seam something with something

to join the edges of something together with something. The worker seamed the two parts of the carpet with a special tool. She seamed the material with a strip of cloth to strengthen the seam.

burst at the seams

Be filled to or beyond normal capacity. For example, On her wedding day the church was bursting at the seams, or That was a wonderful meal, but I'm bursting at the seams. This expression alludes to rupturing the seams of a garment too tight for the wearer and is generally used hyperbolically. Also see come apart at the seams.

See also: burst, seam

come apart at the seams

Also, come unglued or unstuck . Become extremely upset; break down. For example, After he lost his job Brad seemed to come apart at the seams or The proposed bank merger is coming unglued, or When her last play flopped she became completely unstuck. This idiom transfers physical to emotional disintegration. [Slang; mid-1900s]

See also: apart, come, seam

fall apart

Collapse, break down, either physically or mentally and emotionally. For example, This chair is about to fall apart, or After his wife died, he fell apart. For synonyms for the latter usage, see come apart at the seams; go to pieces.

See also: apart, fall

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.

be bursting at the seams

COMMON If a place is bursting at the seams, it is completely full of people or things. Note: The seams of a piece of clothing are the places where the separate pieces of cloth used to make it are stitched together. The tiny stadium was bursting at the seams with a capacity crowd of just under 10,000. We really need to sort out that shed. It's bursting at the seams.

See also: burst, seam

come apart at the seams

1. If a system or relationship comes apart at the seams it completely fails. Note: The seams of a piece of clothing are the places where the separate pieces of cloth used to make it are stitched together. Our relationship was coming apart at the seams — we were quarrelling the whole time. Note: You can also say that something falls apart at the seams. Britain's university system is in danger of falling apart at the seams because of cuts in government funding.

2. If someone is coming apart at the seams, they have stopped being able to manage their life because they are very unhappy or under so much stress. Note: The seams of a piece of clothing are the places where the separate pieces of cloth used to make it are stitched together. He stood for a moment, breathing deeply; he was coming apart at the seams, something he had never thought would happen to him.

See also: apart, come, seam

bursting (or bulging) at the seams

(of a place or building) full to overflowing. informal

See also: burst, seam

come (or fall) apart at the seams

1 (of a thing) fall to pieces. 2 (of a person); have an emotional breakdown; collapse. informal

Seams are the lines along which pieces of fabric or the planks of a boat are joined, perceived as the points most likely to be damaged or weakened.

See also: apart, come, seam

come/fall apart at the ˈseams

(informal) begin to fail or collapse: The Government’s economic policy is falling apart at the seams. ♢ After only six months, their marriage has come apart at the seams.

If a piece of clothing comes apart at the seams, it begins to separate along the lines where the pieces of cloth are sewn together.

ˌfray at/around the ˈedges/ˈseams

start to come apart or to fail: Support for the leader was fraying at the edges.

If cloth frays, the threads in it start to come apart.

be bursting/bulging at the ˈseams (with something)

(also be full to ˈbursting (with something)) (informal) be very or too full (of something): All of our schools are bursting at the seams; we have to build new ones urgently.

fall apart

1. To disintegrate, collapse, or break into pieces: The rickety chair fell apart when I sat on it.

2. To suffer a nervous breakdown: The political prisoner fell apart after years in solitary confinement.

3. To lose structure or continuity: Our vacation plans fell apart because we couldn't agree on which country to visit.

See also: apart, fall

seam-squirrels

n. lice. (see also pants rabbits. Contrived.) I got an itch. Must be seam-squirrels.

come apart at the seams, to

To become disordered; to go to pieces. This graphic analogy to a garment becoming, as it were, unsewn, is American and dates from the mid-twentieth century. “In a few instances when I thought that I would come apart at the seams . . . I managed to make the director listen” (Josef von Sternberg, Fun in a Chinese Laundry, 1965, an account of making a movie).