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Glite Dictionary
to pack nuts to butts

to pack nuts to butts

9.9
Put people very close together with almost no space between them
  • idiom
  • Offensive
translation icon : apiñar
  • During rush hour, the subway cars were packed nuts to butts with commuters.

Examples

  • The festival was so popular that fans ended up packed nuts to butts near the stage.

  • We were packing nuts to butts in the elevator after the fire drill.

  • We had to pack nuts to butts in the subway during rush hour!

  • The concert was so crowded that we were all packed nuts to butts!

  • During rush hour, the subway cars were packed nuts to butts with commuters.

  • The festival was so popular that fans ended up packed nuts to butts near the stage.

  • We had to pack nuts to butts in the elevator after the fire drill.

Synonyms

to pack
vsto pack nuts to butts
278 2.3

To press things together so they take less space

is a crude slang phrase that forces people into very tight closeness
to bunch up
vsto pack nuts to butts
8 3.3

To gather closely into a tight group

is more forceful and rude meaning people are squeezed almost without space
to jampack
vsto pack nuts to butts
1 4.5

Fill a place or container until there is no room left

is a vulgar slang act of crowding people with almost no space

Antonyms

to spread out
24 3.1

To arrange or unfold things so they cover a larger area

How Crowded

to pack nuts to butts
  • Offensive
9.9
crowd
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

pack nuts to butts infinitive
packed nuts to butts past
packed nuts to butts past participle
packing nuts to butts present participle
packs nuts to butts third person singular

Morphology

pack + nut + to + butt

The verb 'pack' (to press together) combined with 'butt(s)' (buttocks) gives a clear image of people being forced close together, so the general idea of crowding is partly derivable from the parts. However, the phrase uses vulgar slang ('nuts' = testicles) and an idiomatic construction ('pack X to Y') that rely on cultural/sexualised metaphor, so the exact meaning and nuance would not be fully predictable to a B1 learner who only knows the constituent words.

Etymology

The slang pack nuts to butts may come from a strong picture: people pressed so close that their butts touch, like nuts forced tightly into a jar. So it means 'to crowd people tightly together so there is almost no space between them'.