What word can be used to describe a large quantity or amount in a way that it would sound like an antonym for "thimbleful". Preferably a word that rhymes with it or starts with "t". As in:
I had a thimbleful of patience and the task required "?antonym?".
I am looking for a word that has a highly positive connotation, and can be used in formal writing; in praise of someone. I did not come across any entries in places like thesaurus.com for this word. Figurative usage does not seem to be defined even though examples are occasionally given.
Edit:
I chose "torrent" (plural "torrents"), hoping that it would be correct to use it as a unit for measuring something that is essentially limitless and unbounded, something that is overflowing, as in a blessing. Example: He had torrents of true skill and good will.
Another possibility, in line with tchrist suggestion below is "tower" , from the list of terms of venery.
Also, according to Collins Dictionary, thimble is occasionally used for thimbleful in British English.
Best Answer
If you really need a t-word, you could go for torrent, defined by the online Merriam-Webster as:
Torrent is often used to describe large amounts. For example, buried under a torrent of words or One tweet releases a torrent of stories Since thimble is often (usually?) used to describe small quantities of liquid, the juxtaposition can work:
On the other hand, torrent carries the implication of something arriving with force, suddenly, so it isn't perfect.
Another alternative, a bit more prosaic, is simply ton:
Or:
The word metric here, is used as an intensifier1, so that makes it a slightly stronger statement. In a similar vein, if a bit more crude, you can go for crapton. This is a slang and relatively vulgar term which isn't in any serious dictionary I could find, but is defined by Wiktionary as:
So, you could use:
1I admit I have no evidence of metric as an intensifier other than my own experience, but I am reasonably confident it is used this way. I will admit that this might just be because of the recent popularity of metric crapton though.