like sardines
idiom
: without enough room to move around
A large crowd of reporters was crammed/packed like sardines into a small room.
Examples of like sardines in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The mob grabbed a ladder and shoved it through the tunnel, where still images from bodycam footage show police packed in like sardines.
—
Ryan Oehrli, Charlotte Observer, 5 Feb. 2024
Cages crammed with hundreds of men who must sleep on their sides like sardines, as their cellmates wearily stand to make room, and shallow holes scraped from the earth with log and dirt ceilings so low that inmates cannot stand up.
—Katharine Houreld, Washington Post, 6 Jan. 2024
Packed like sardines on commercial flights, the passengers—some as young as 4, some as old as 16—all had one thing in common: They were unaccompanied.
—Smithsonianmag.com, Smithsonian Magazine, 21 Aug. 2023
Even more were stacked like sardines in filing cabinet drawers.
—Praveena Somasundaram, Washington Post, 21 July 2023
Word began to spread about this local league held in a small middle school with fans packed in the gym like sardines.
—Anthony Gharib, USA TODAY, 12 July 2023
Eyewitness reports described a scene where attendees were packed into the crowd like sardines and described intense pressure on their chest during Scott’s performance, while others were trampled in the chaos.
—Vulture, 29 June 2023
Wine, wine everywhere: bottles stacked on bottles, crowding every spare surface space, taking every inch of unclaimed countertop, packed like sardines between the tables, layered like a phalanx three soldiers deep atop the bar.
—Jordan Michelman, Los Angeles Times, 26 May 2023
Eyewitness reports described a scene where attendees were packed into the crowd like sardines and described intense pressure on their chest during Scott’s performance, while others were trampled in the chaos.
—Vulture, 29 June 2023
Ryan Oehrli, Charlotte Observer, 5 Feb. 2024
Cages crammed with hundreds of men who must sleep on their sides like sardines, as their cellmates wearily stand to make room, and shallow holes scraped from the earth with log and dirt ceilings so low that inmates cannot stand up.
—Katharine Houreld, Washington Post, 6 Jan. 2024
Packed like sardines on commercial flights, the passengers—some as young as 4, some as old as 16—all had one thing in common: They were unaccompanied.
—Smithsonianmag.com, Smithsonian Magazine, 21 Aug. 2023
Even more were stacked like sardines in filing cabinet drawers.
—Praveena Somasundaram, Washington Post, 21 July 2023
Word began to spread about this local league held in a small middle school with fans packed in the gym like sardines.
—Anthony Gharib, USA TODAY, 12 July 2023
Eyewitness reports described a scene where attendees were packed into the crowd like sardines and described intense pressure on their chest during Scott’s performance, while others were trampled in the chaos.
—Vulture, 29 June 2023
Wine, wine everywhere: bottles stacked on bottles, crowding every spare surface space, taking every inch of unclaimed countertop, packed like sardines between the tables, layered like a phalanx three soldiers deep atop the bar.
—Jordan Michelman, Los Angeles Times, 26 May 2023
Eyewitness reports described a scene where attendees were packed into the crowd like sardines and described intense pressure on their chest during Scott’s performance, while others were trampled in the chaos.
—Vulture, 29 June 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'like sardines.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Like sardines.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/like%20sardines. Accessed 24 Apr. 2024.
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