spadeloads

have (something) in spadeloads

While Western Ferries speculated the merits or otherwise of operating to the Dunoon breakwater, the decision to put the CalMac Clyde and Hebridean ferry routes out to tender was not running smoothly for the Scottish Executive. The schedule for its implementation had slipped because the process had been much more complicated than originally thought. And where there is complication there is scope for obfuscation. As will become evident, obfuscation prevailed in spadeloads.

2015, Roy N. Pedersen, “Chapter 24: Tendering shambles”, in Western Ferries: Taking on Giants, Birlinn, →ISBN

In effect, by showing or feeling gratitude, what you are doing is celebrating the positives in life and enabling them to dominate and repress the negatives. Again, what life has taught me is that when you associate with positive people (who often have spadeloads of gratitude!), you feel immeasurably better and it has all kinds of health and wellbeing benefits. You then become one and other positive people gravitate towards you. OK, in life and the workplace it can be jolly hard to avoid the negative, ungrateful elements, as they are everywhere, but do try to find time to seek out that other breed who will enrich your lives and to whom you will undoubtedly feel grateful.

2019, Robert Osbourne, Enjoy the Ride!: The A-Z Handbook for Life, Troubador Publishing Ltd, →ISBN, page 41

The priest sprinkled a handful of token soil on to the coffin lid. The grave gaped. A mouth in the ground not saying anything. Soon the sexton would arrive. Stop it up with spadeloads of earth. Stop it up for ever. Eternal silence. George wondered. His grandfather and his father were buried here. Now his son. In a way. He had a sudden urge to laugh, to screech with laughter, to guffaw. He coughed instead.

2012 [1987], Rupert Thomson, Dreams of Leaving, reprint edition, A&C Black, →ISBN