nuts to butts

English

Adverb

nuts to butts (not comparable)

1. (military, idiomatic) One behind the other; in line; in a queue.
   • 2008, Gregory L. Wellman, A History of Alcatraz Island: 1853-2008, Arcadia Publishing, page 22:

     Seen here in 1903, inmates line up front to back in an arrangement known as “nuts to butts” to be counted. This type of head count made sure there were no escapees.

   • 2011, Dara Odoe Sok, Engagement in Peril, Xlibris, page 504:

     Another yelled out, “Let me see nuts to butts, c'mon, people, nuts to butts, ladies! This ain't fucking gay, get used to it now! Nuts to butts!”

   • 2015, Clifton Collins Jr., Gustavo “Goose” Alvarez, Prison Ramen: Recipes and Stories from Behind Bars, Workman Publishing Company, page 36:

     The officers yell out, “Nuts to butts!” You can probably figure out what this means. Not only is it humiliating, but the smell of all those bodies mixed with fear, regret, and anger is so bad you can’t help but gag.

   • 2023 September 27, Maximilian Sebastian Sterling, “Rethinking the Stereotype: The English and Queuing Misconceptions”, in Medium‎^[1], archived from the original on 2024-04-25:

     Ironically, I found myself playing peacekeeper, urging elderly English ladies to respect the line, much like I would back in Dehli’s while disembarking from airplanes where people found the need to stand “nuts to butts” while pushing forward.

2. (idiomatic, uncommon, by extension) tightly, compactly.
   • 2014 March 17, Mark Sanders, “Denver fans explain why De La Soul still matters”, in Westword‎^[2], archived from the original on 2024-04-25:

     De La Soul, the iconic Long Island hip-hop trio, performed last Saturday to a capacity crowd at Cervantes' Masterpiece Ballroom. It was "nuts-to-butts crowded," as my Tennessee friends like to say.

   • 2017, Walt Browning, Charlie's Requiem: Resistance, →ISBN, page 15:

     The vehicles were stacked nuts to butts, with little room to pass between them.

   • 2018, Lois Greiman, Unsweetened, NYLA, page 227:

     Maybe it does take a village. But what if the damned village in question is nuts to butts full of idiots? —Lieutenant Jack Rivera

Adjective

nuts to butts (not comparable)

1. (idiomatic, rare) crowded, packed.
   • 2000 March 28, “Tour Diary #1: Asleep At The Wheel Hug The Road With Bob Dylan”, in MTV‎^[3], archived from the original on 2024-04-25:

     There are no chairs on the floor, and by show time, it was "nuts-to-butts" out there.

   • 2008 January 28, Morgan Buchanan, “Smacked a Harley rider in the face . . .”, in VTX OA‎^[4], archived from the original on 2024-04-25:

     There was this "leaning bar" behind the seats at the main bar. It was nuts-to-butts in there. I had a "motorcycle" jacket on.

   • 2013 December 2, “The accidental pervert”, in Head in a Blender‎^[5], archived from the original on 2024-04-25:

     The slow motion mosh pit resumed and bodies were crushed together like a man’s junk in 80s jeans. It was nuts to butts as we managed to squeeze the last person on, leaving no room to slide a credit card between us. There were armpits in the face and lumps and bumps pressed against lumps and bumps.

   • 2023 February 9, okeefe4prez, “Who’s Going To Wrigley?”, in Hawkeye Nation‎^[6], archived from the original on 2024-04-25:

     The last game I rode the train from downtown to was the game where the Cubs won the pennant in the year they won the World Series. That thing was nuts to butts. After being in the country 5 years now I would probably die on that train. I hate crowds.