shovelfuls

The next hour was a period of indescribable suspense and terror to all concerned, – all, at least, save Genevieve, who sat placidly on Mrs. Craig's lap (Mr. Craig had brought out a chair from Miss Camilla's kitchen) and, thumb in mouth, watched the men furiously hurling the soil in great shovelfuls from the curious "hole."

The Slipper Point Mystery 1921

The flooding tide aids our passage in the open passenger launch that is fired with shovelfuls of Colombian coal supplemented with chip fat and sawdust.

Country diary: Cornwall Virginia Spiers 2010

An excavator lifted shovelfuls of dirt until it hit rock, all right—but it was crushed rock.

Yellow Dirt Judy Pasternak 2010

They walked through the Smoke, past cook fires being extinguished with shovelfuls of dirt; windows coming alight with candles and electric bulbs; and a handful of young uglies pursuing an escaped chicken.

Scott Westerfeld: Uglies Quartet Scott Westerfeld 2010

Suleiman threw shovelfuls of dried, crushed olive pits onto the logs, filling the room with a warm smell like potatoes frying in a cast iron pan.

A Privilege to Die Thanassis Cambanis 2010

‘At the end, there was so much blame to spread around that we could all have taken a few shovelfuls home and rolled around in it like pigs in stink.’

February 2008 2008

‘At the end, there was so much blame to spread around that we could all have taken a few shovelfuls home and rolled around in it like pigs in stink.’

It Was a Dark and Stormy Night ... 2008

But servants, being naturally efficient since the sooner they got a job done the more time they would have to themselves, spread out that enormous pile of clothes so only a few shovelfuls of dirt here and there were needed to cover them sufficiently.

Johanna Lindsey That Perfect Someone 2010

Experts suggest equal parts of brown material (fallen leaves, coffee grounds, twigs) and green material (grass cuttings, pulled weeds and vegetable bits), and mix in some shovelfuls of soil to make about 3 to 4 cubic feet of compost.

Hints From Heloise 2010

But servants, being naturally efficient since the sooner they got a job done the more time they would have to themselves, spread out that enormous pile of clothes so only a few shovelfuls of dirt here and there were needed to cover them sufficiently.

Johanna Lindsey That Perfect Someone 2010