Bursting at the SEAMS

When I read that a plant nursery was “bursting at the seems,” I had to Google the misspelled expression to see how common it might be.

“Bursting at the seems” got 189,000 results. Not too bad, when we consider that Google hits are often in the millions, but bad enough.

Here are some examples:

I am BURSTING at the seems…….I have to tell someone

our tailgate was bursting at the seems saturday

HELP! mail server bursting at the seems! or is it???

we’re just bursting at the seems in our existing house, so it’s time for a change.

Because my dreams are bursting at the seems..

Bursting at the seems with excitement.

The expression is bursting at the seams.

An article of clothing is sewn together. The places where two pieces of fabric have been joined are the seams.

As we consume more and more sweetened drinks and fatty treats, our bodies enlarge, pressing against the seams of our clothing. When we have increased by several sizes, the thread holding the seams together weakens from the strain. As a result, we can be said to be bursting at the seams.

As Dr. Bannerman morphs into the Incredible Hulk, his clothing bursts at the seams.