sardine can
Crowded space metaphor
A sardine can is a small, flat tin container for preserved sardines, typically opened by rolling back a metal lid with a key.
The image of sardines packed tightly together makes the phrase a common metaphor for overcrowded spaces: The subway car was a sardine can during rush hour.
Also *sardine tin* in British English.
- tinElement fifty, Sn
- packedFilled to capacity
- crowdedFilled beyond comfort
- shoulder to shoulderAdjacent and aligned laterally
- standing room onlyNo seats available
fish · cramped · subway · tight · tight squeeze · oil · preserved · squished · metal · elevator · sealed · commute · rush hour · oily · silvery · small · stuffed · claustrophobic
- metal containerssoup cans, beverage cans, food cans, beer cans, soda cans
- crowdedcrowded, jam-packed, crammed, jammed, teeming
sardine canballroom
Venue for formal dances
mansion · palace · cathedral · football stadium · aircraft hangar
sardine canopen field
Unenclosed outdoor space
wide open spaces · vast wilderness · open ocean · open sky · freedom
sardine canopen air
Unenclosed outdoor space
wide open spaces · great outdoors · prairie · savanna · ocean