| 释义 |
Definition of hell in English: hellnoun hɛlhɛl 1A place regarded in various religions as a spiritual realm of evil and suffering, often traditionally depicted as a place of perpetual fire beneath the earth where the wicked are punished after death. irreligious children were assumed to have passed straight to the eternal fires of hell Example sentencesExamples - No criminal could be as cruel as the God who would consign human beings to a hell.
- Heaven and hell are eternal states with no movement of people from one to the other.
- We must always remember that the purifying fires of heaven are hotter than the fires of hell.
- Then the soul is sent either to heaven to enjoy the fruits of a decent life or condemned to eternal hell and damnation forever.
- They conceived the idea that God dwells within each person and that heaven and hell exist here and now on earth.
- It teaches that there is no eternal hell or damnation and every soul has the capacity to realize the Truth.
- I believe I am making my own hell or heaven now and that my after life will be what I deserve.
- The hell of this world is all the hell I will endure and it is all the heaven unbelievers will ever enjoy.
- In that explanation, the hell realm was in the depths of the earth.
- If this is true, then the burning fires of hell would be the coziest place imaginable.
- So God's holiness makes hell as inevitable as his love makes heaven.
- But I'm committed to the teaching of the scriptures that there is a heaven and a hell.
- All those whose names are not written in the book of life will be thrown into hell, the lake of fire, and the sentence will be eternal.
- Do you want reliable answers concerning issues like life, forgiveness, death, heaven or hell?
- Like everyone else I know, I am a first-timer on this earth and can shed no light on the existence of an afterlife or heaven and hell.
Synonyms the netherworld, the land/abode of the dead, the infernal regions, the Inferno, the nether regions, the abyss the abode of the damned, eternal damnation, eternal punishment, perdition hellfire, fire and brimstone Biblical Gehenna, Tophet, Abaddon Judaism Sheol Greek Mythology Hades, Tartarus, Acheron Roman Mythology Avernus Scandinavian Mythology Niflheim literary the pit, the shades archaic the lower world - 1.1 A situation, experience, or place of great suffering.
Example sentencesExamples - Why do you continue to make my life a living hell now you are dead?
- The mold, the weather, and my sinuses are conspiring to make my life a living hell.
- For my husband and thousands like him, life really is a living hell.
- The stories from those inside haunts anyone who hears them, and this is perhaps the closest thing to a living hell.
- I may as well live in a fiery inferno, for God's sake, because my life has become a living hell!
- It's marvellous for two days, then you feel like you're in a living hell.
- A callous dog owner has escaped going to jail after making his pet's life a living hell of prolonged torment.
- He spent six weeks in a living hell all because of his thoughtlessness!
- You can say that your life has been a living hell for the last few months.
- Before long, an unspeakable hell of gunfire, death and destruction surround you.
- The people around him had no idea that it was really a living hell for him.
- That girl, now that I think back, showed me that not all girls were like those ones who had made my life hell at such an impressionable age.
- After the death, staff at the home became intolerably cruel to her and made her life a living hell.
- It truly has been the closest thing to a living hell that I've ever experienced.
- They are suffering terribly but their mind is perfect, so it is a living hell.
- Jail is in many ways worse anyway, with life inside being a living hell.
- It attracts the drug trade and expands it and simply makes life a living hell.
- It's been going on for three years - it's a living hell and we've decided enough is enough.
- If you know what local television is like in the Philippines you know what a living hell it was.
- You vow you're going to make his/her life a living hell as long as you are alive.
Synonyms a misery, purgatory, hell on earth, torture, agony, a torment, a nightmare, an ordeal, a trauma suffering, affliction, anguish, wretchedness, woe, tribulation, trials and tribulations
exclamation hɛlhɛl also the hellUsed for emphasis or to express anger, contempt, or surprise. oh, hell—where will this all end? Example sentencesExamples - Green was the color of their clothes and equipment and, hell, the name stuck.
- As a matter of fact, nobody else in the whole Australian squad could but, hell, with Warne you just never know.
- She was sure the neighbours could hear them as well - hell, the whole terrace could probably hear them.
- We don't even mind that you came up with the next new year first; hell, we're used to it.
- I guess it was going to happen sooner or later - hell, I predicted it about a month ago.
- I suppose it hurt because, hell, no girl likes having another girl picked over her.
- You can't afford a gun safety class; hell, you can barely afford the gun.
- I don't see any dishonour in this at all; hell, isn't it how Parliament is supposed to work?
- I like games and I know they can be addictive but, hell, killing over one is just plain stupid.
- He responded that he certainly had an opinion about the movie - hell, he made it, in fact.
- It also says to people smuggling drugs - hell, if you're caught, you might as well shoot it out.
- Japan is actually bigger than the UK, bigger than Italy - hell, it's even bigger than Germany.
- We will not come out with a firm argument this week - hell, we might not even print this issue.
- Don't give it a second thought; hell, most other magazine editors don't.
- Without the blues, there is no Elvis or Chuck Berry, no Rolling Stones and, hell, no Justin Timberlake.
- I tried to work out if they were pitying or despising me but, hell, it made no difference.
- I checked the ticket in the machine and the parking was free of charge - hell, what a bonus.
- I went to this cheap salon in Madison, the girl put some fluid on my head and, hell, my hair went green and hard.
- Plus we love our food and, hell, we were stuck with each other for fatter or thinner.
Synonyms damn, damnation, blast, hell, heck, gordon bennett
Phrases all hell breaks (or is let) loose informal Suddenly there is pandemonium. the police arrived one night and all hell broke loose Example sentencesExamples - ‘All of a sudden, all hell broke loose,’ he told magistrates.
- And then all hell broke loose on the night of March 10 that year.
- Suddenly, all hell broke loose; there was gunfire and explosions everywhere.
- And then all hell broke loose when he walked out.
- We'd simply been reading a map when all hell broke loose, and now there were more than a dozen men milling around and telling us they were going to take Andrew's bike and we must go with them to the police station.
- They agreed to meet and had nominated two of four delegates when Beverley arrived to ask them if they had their delegation organised and all hell broke loose.
- ‘We were there until 11 pm and then all hell broke loose,’ said the prison officer.
- Suddenly, all hell broke loose and a couple of compartments were set on fire.
- Over the next few weeks, all hell broke loose on campus.
- Suddenly all hell broke loose and everybody dived for cover.… It was only later that the man's story emerged.
- But when I got to Los Angeles at the age of 22, all hell broke loose.
- All hell would have broken loose if a fraction of these acts had been performed by the other side.
- Chances are, you might be a little shaken up if you happened to be down at Vinyl Lounge on Saturday night, when all hell broke loose outside the club.
- But that's what he got - and all hell broke loose.
- A raucous screech flooded her head and suddenly all hell broke loose.
- Suddenly all hell broke loose as one of the suspects struggled free, grabbed a knife and attacked an unarmed officer.
- But as soon as I say I'm only interested in Asians, suddenly all hell breaks loose!
- They give him a learning support assistant but as soon as things start to improve they withdraw it and all hell is let loose.
- When the final whistle blew all hell broke loose.
- It always starts with an investigative article in either The Washington Post or The New York Times, and all hell is let loose.
informal Used for emphasis. Example sentencesExamples - There was no way in hell I was eating that so I settled for a meat and potato pie.
- If he can't be honest about his own past, how in hell are we expected to believe him when he talks about the major issues.
- There is no way in hell they want to be part of what, in essence, would be the new crusades.
- All the other teams saw us putting up ours so began theirs, but only Carrie's team has a hope in hell of beating our masterpiece.
- Either he was drunk as hell or just as stupid as hell… well… he was probably both.
- There's no way in hell any one person can take in all the shows, and so clues must be searched out.
- There is no chance in hell of the Coalition leaving Labor with a massive surplus.
- Are they now going to pay my direct debits which are due this week because I sure as hell can't without my tax credits?
- I sure as hell wouldn't want to be treated as second fiddle, so why do some of us treat others that way?
- If you know my wife you'll know that she's not into the stereotypical ideals I have no hope in hell of competing with.
- For starters the presentation sucks, and I don't have a hope in hell of figuring out how to design a decent title bar.
- The abuse was vicious and unrelenting and there wasn't a chance in hell that it would go unchallenged.
- We sure as hell ought to be able to do it the second time in less time than the first, if nothing else.
- If I were a prospective sponsor and looked at their site, I'd sure as hell change my mind.
- Once thing is true, there is no way in hell you can be a meaningful councillor and an MP at the same time.
- She could be fine as hell, but if you have conflicting issues all the time, it's not gonna work.
- But it's sure as hell got to be the best way, the only way, to mainline pure adrenaline in the cinema.
- I don't care how pretty they are: there isn't a chance in hell that the new version can offer up a cast to beat that.
- I woke up this morning somewhat before my alarm went off, feeling nauseous as hell.
- There's no way in hell I'm not going to end up completely losing any ID card I get.
- He looks as guilty as hell and I realise we would be denying cruel destiny if I did not now make it my business to find out what he thinks he is guilty of.
- Tom Chaplin and the boys are back and this time they are mad as hell.
- I had no hope in hell of catching him in the flesh but I hope to be a nightly fixture in his nightmares for years to come.
- If that's being politically correct than we sure as hell know what side of the argument we're on.
- It's not great art or anything, but their drummer sure as hell earns the money.
- So with everyone describing me as a Scottish painter, I reckoned I didn't have a hope in hell.
- There are magazines on the coffee table in front of me, and I'm feeling nervous as hell.
- And with that he left the room, leaving Craig feeling as guilty as hell for something he doesn't remember doing.
- He sure as hell hates losing and doesn't just want win, he wants to rub it in.
- However, she's also mad as hell and really isn't going to take it anymore.
- I think you just need one in order to give you a hope in hell of not reverting to form…
- What in hell does one's husband or wife have to do with anybody's ability to perform a job?
- With a famous director father and fabulous superstar mum, Liza never stood a hope in hell of achieving normality.
- I thought it was funny as hell, and kept laughing throughout the day every time I thought of it.
- What in hell would they think of the metal gizmo we'd plunked down on their back yards?
- It is his first choice, but he says he hasn't a hope in hell of getting in.
- Tallis, professor of geriatric medicine at Manchester, is mad as hell and he's not going to take any more.
- I'm still out here, running free and as guilty as hell.
- We were stubborn as hell but we were hanging on by our fingernails.
- There's no chance of escape and there was no way in hell I was going to make it known that I am in the adjacent room.
informal Be very unpleasant or harmful to. the fungus is hell on grasshoppers Example sentencesExamples - Then we told him that almost flying into mountains is hell on the nervous system, not fun.
- Have I ever mentioned this knight-in-shining-armor thing is hell on the muscles?
- The impact was hell on his new bullet wounds and he found that he was bleeding quite profusely.
- I cringed, this all must have been hell on his burnt hand.
- Going back to Standard Time is hell on us nightowls.
- We're in one of those no-fun-news cycles, which is hell on a guy who likes a happy cocktail with his evening reading.
- Staying at all those run-down places has been hell on my back.
- Going through old blog stuff is hell on the brain.
- But the after effects were hell on her mind and body.
- It would be hell on business, though, so we skip it.
- This was hell on horse's hooves, considering the hot pavement they had to walk on for much of the way.
- War is hell on a president and his approval ratings.
- Health foods need not be hell on your tastebuds.
- Only problem is, driving around with 2,000 pounds of papers in my back seat is hell on my car.
- Hey, from the looks of it, it's been hell on you, too.
Whatever difficulties may occur. come hell or high water, cooking three meals a day is a mighty task Example sentencesExamples - But it looks like that won't happen, so, come hell or high water, I am getting a job at Starbucks.
- I hate confrontations with a passion but I wasn't going to back down, come hell or high water.
- Reporters cultivate an image of dogged truth-seekers who kick up rocks and report what they find come hell or high water.
- By now I was determined I was going to preach that sermon come hell or high water.
- The strategy is pretty much the same as that drawn up by the Romans: Find and support local strongmen who can deliver the goods to the imperial capital, come hell or high water.
- I wanted more, I wanted a baby come hell or high water.
- The Alien agrees to ensure, come hell or high water, that he attends the scheduled appointment, as the prospect of attempting to reschedule is unthinkable.
- They were there to hear some great blues, and come hell or high water, they were going to hear it.
- Madge replied: ‘Oh yes, that's just my husband Syd, I told him he was going to cut the grass today come hell or high water!’
- It wouldn't be because you had already made up your mind on what you were determined to do, come hell or high water, would it?
- I am a sceptic and believe this government is committed to membership come hell or high water.
- Either way the Dominican College is determined to maintain the rugby ethos, come hell or high water.
- I really like her work, so I was pretty much going to go and see this show come hell or high water.
- A quarter of a century earlier a young man and woman promised to wed each other, come hell or high water.
- This is probably a good enough reason, by itself, why the elections should go ahead, come hell or high water.
- Since she is teetering on the brink of one of her moods, this is an outing that will come to fruition come hell or high water.
- Once a good design solution is found that totally suits the product, it is stuck with consistently come hell or high water, like a good piece of product design that you know just doesn't need any more tinkering with.
- Montreal merchants, worried that the newly-opened Erie Canal will sap business to New York, decide to build a canal of their own come hell or high water.
- Like my long-suffering employee, I want my money to be in my bank account come hell or high water with all the deductions already made, all the expenses already claimed and I don't want to have to fill in any more forms about it.
- This decision to remain silent will disappoint readers who expect The Detroit News to stand with the Republican presidential candidate come hell or high water.
Synonyms by some means, by any means, by any means whatsoever, in some way, one way or another, in one way or another, no matter how, somehow or other, by fair means or foul, by hook or by crook, come what may, come hell or high water
she walked on window ledges for the hell of it Example sentencesExamples - I decided to give myself a one-second burst just for the hell of it.
- I've known academics who speak Latin for the hell of it.
- Eventually I'll review all the movies I've seen, just for the hell of it.
- If you read the small print on their extremely lengthy content guidelines they basically add a clause that says they can simply delete a site if they feel like doing so, just for the hell of it!
- We'd watch cars and people going by just for the hell of it.
- Or do we have a lot more criminals interfering with other people's property just for the hell of it?
- Now, I don't disrespect McDonalds for the hell of it - they're a successful machine that works very well.
- They bring you down, only to bring you back up again, just for the hell of it.
- In tinder-dry conditions, the fire service could do without reckless idiots setting fires just for the hell of it.
- I've had more fun this last week than I can remember having in a long time, which just goes to show - sometimes you should do stuff just for the hell of it.
- My favourite kind of lie is the pointless but plausible lie; the odd nugget of needless fiction dropped into conversation just for the hell of it.
- Just for the hell of it, I went back and tried 4 tickets, which also worked.
- Maybe I'll drive around the block a few times just for the hell of it.
- Request a matching waistcoat just for the hell of it.
- I'm never tied down; few things could keep me from flying to Fiji tomorrow, just for the hell of it.
- I'm curious what other extreme sports you might be into or just have tried for the hell of it.
- I've used Pythagoras' Theorem about twice - just for the hell of it.
- What I haven't tried at least once for the hell of it, I think I could figure out.
- It's not just photographing your life for 24 hours for the hell of it or the pure vanity.
- To get round this - and, I'm sure, just for the hell of it - the doors have two hinges, the second about a foot in from the first.
informal An extremely unpleasant or troublesome example of something. Example sentencesExamples - Holidaymakers have told of their charter flight from hell that should have taken four hours - but lasted two days.
- Some people go on holiday to get away from the neighbours from hell.
- You could be caught on camera when a mobile CCTV unit takes to Southend's streets to snoop on neighbours from hell.
- A programme about neighbours from hell is guaranteed to get me put into a psychiatric ward for my own safety.
- Unfortunately, they forgot to include surviving the honeymoon from hell in their vows.
- An innovative help group for residents whose lives are blighted by neighbours from hell will be piloted in two York areas.
- A Swindon family had a holiday from hell in a Spanish hotel where hundreds of guests were struck down with a mystery bug.
- I have the headache from hell, my throat is killing me, and my sinuses hurt.
- However, we all seem to have the cold from hell at the moment, so this organisation could all go rapidly down hill in the near future.
- In this service station from hell, there was one diesel pump open.
- If you are a normal, hard working, sensible teacher, this is your week from hell.
- The torment imposed by neighbours from hell can go on for years.
- I felt as if I got smashed last night and was now experiencing the hangover from hell.
- The other guests must have thought it was their holiday from hell.
- Residents living in a Penhill street are celebrating the end of a family from hell's reign of abuse and intimidation.
- Lucas also finished his job from hell on Friday so we went out for a long big breakfast on Saturday morning to celebrate.
- I woke up this morning with one of my headaches from hell - the kind that makes my whole body shiver and turns my head into a cannonball.
- We're in the middle of what they said would be Tony's week from hell.
- Landlords have expressed concerns over a crackdown on neighbours from hell.
- My next door neighbours have turned into the customers from hell.
Synonyms horrible, rotten, awful, terrible, dreadful, ghastly, horrid, vile, foul, abominable, appalling, atrocious, horrendous, frightful
informal Be severely reprimanded. Paul kept his mouth shut and looked apologetic—we got hell I'm going to catch hell if she reads this Example sentencesExamples - There's no way you could have gone home as drunk as you were and not get hell from your aunt, so you must have crashed somewhere.
- Neither one of us wants to have children, because we feel that passing on our genes would be a form of child abuse (sure, they're great in adults, but kids like us get hell in school).
- He's going to get hell about the mess here though.
- ‘In the forest…’ Christopher trailed off, knowing he was going to get hell for a response like that.
- I get hell when I get home: ‘These stains will NEVER come out.’
- Randy still wasn't comfortable telling anyone Calvin's name; for fear that Calvin could get hell from the police.
- I was going to get hell for that whenever I return to school after the cruise.
- Or just about anything, because trying to spare the person that I'm seeing or involved with at that time because it seems to be a lot of - I mean, he's probably going to get hell if he went home, if he said the truth and went home.
- But the chauffeur knew he'd get hell from her if he didn't help her, so he quickly extended his hand to her.
- Of course, nothing is sweeter to a kid than imagining their parent getting hell from some other bigger older parent.
- If I hear any fighting you're going to get hell, okay mister?
- He had probably spent four hours getting hell from her for what she had read in my journals.
- Did I ever get hell from my dad about it - he wasn't as violent back then, but he sure roughed me up a lot.
- They are going to get hell when the social worker visits next month from the police.
- If I didn't already tell you, I was a prima ballerina… if anyone reading this can think of a more manly name for ballerina, please let me know, because I got hell in school because of it.
Synonyms be severely reprimanded, be upbraided, be scolded, get a scolding, be admonished, be castigated, be rebuked, be chastised, be censured, be criticized severely, be taken to task, get into trouble, be hauled over the coals
informal Severely reprimand or make things very unpleasant for someone. Example sentencesExamples - He's been giving me hell ever since they got engaged.
- All I can say is that if it happened here, the court would really give him hell for wasting its time.
- Driving him home, I gave him hell, in my tired, hungover way.
- After laying down like a dead thing all day she found enough fight to give me hell.
- I know of another man who bought his daughter a car for her 21st birthday and she wrote it off when she wrapped it around a telegraph pole while doing 70 miles and hour and his wife gave him hell for getting the girl such a fast car.
- In the end, she decided to show him, knowing she would be given hell if he ever found out that she knew and didn't tell him.
- All I do is to tell them the truth, and that hurts a lot worse than giving them hell.
- Because Vera refused to do her work, Bridget has been giving her hell.
- Back in the late 80s and early 90s, feminists within liberal groups would give you hell if you talked about women like that.
- I'm looking forward to going over there and giving them hell.
- He has got to have oxygen because his lungs are giving him hell.
- But he was giving Connie hell when I left the house this morning to look for you.
- It was a week since Robert had left and Victoria was giving Clara hell.
- I can hear that screechy voice of hers giving me hell - but she took care of me.
- If your eyes are still a wreck after all that effort, complain to your coworkers that your new contact lenses are giving you hell, even if you don't wear any.
- I keep screwing up the spelling on people's names, and my editor gives me hell for it.
- I took the plunge to be different even if others give me hell for it.
- And I will give him hell from the cradle to the grave.
- I'm going to give you hell, but I love every one of you.
- Indeed, he usually proceeded with the air of a man on his way to give somebody hell.
Synonyms reprimand severely, rebuke, admonish, chastise, chide, upbraid, reprove, reproach, scold, remonstrate with, berate, take to task, pull up, castigate, lambaste, read someone the riot act, give someone a piece of one's mind, haul over the coals, lecture, criticize, censure harass, hound, plague, badger, harry, pester, bother, worry, annoy, trouble, bully, intimidate, pick on, bait, molest, bedevil, victimize, terrorize
informal Used to express angry rejection of someone or something. Example sentencesExamples - Bobby will come in for severe criticism from the press later, but they can all go to hell.
- They simply want what they want and God can go to hell for all they care if he stands in the way of what they want.
- He told them to go to hell since he could afford a funeral and consolation banquet for his brother at a much lower sum.
- She has the unbelievably rare quality of being able to tell you how go to hell when needed.
- So as far as I am concerned your unhappily married personage can go to hell.
- In his arms, her form captured in his cold blue eyes, she was home, safe and the world could go to hell for all it mattered to her.
- Sometimes I get mail from extremist religious people who think I should go to hell.
- I asked him to leave the room, put on the rest of my clothes, knocked on his office door, told him to go to hell, and left.
- Yesterday, he threatened to boycott today's proceedings and told the judge to go to hell.
- Whosoever is offended by its statements must pack and go to hell!
- Lengthy as it is, this method at least makes it less likely that you will cast a vote for someone who thinks you should go to hell.
- Enough of all of that, for me work will not exist for the next few days, self preservation has taken over and they can go to hell.
- My knee is jiggling under the desk, my focus has vanished and this flier I'm working on can go to hell.
- He told the judge to go to hell, declared he won't be coming back and complained once again about life as a detainee.
- As long as he can show his personal badge of aerobic involvement, the environment, we may presume, can go to hell.
- My feelings can go to hell; I'm assured that the rest of me is going there anyway.
- We must also stop granting planning permission for major developments with huge car parks on the basis that everyone has a car and the rest of us can go to hell.
- I know I was being slightly irrational, but at this point logic could go to hell as far as I was concerned.
- But as far as I am concerned, all those fancy words can go to hell for this is where I love and long to be.
- I wish I didn't need his money and I could tell him to go to hell but truth is, without his donation they wouldn't be able to go to school camp.
go to (or through) hell and back Endure an extremely unpleasant or difficult experience. he's been to hell and back since he was publicly blamed for Saturday's home defeat Example sentencesExamples - You went to hell and back out there… I have no idea what your strategy was.
- He'd gone through hell and back, and almost died.
- Lance you have to clean your room, or at least help us, it looks like it went through hell and back, more then once.
- She has gone to hell and back but mum has always been there for us.
- Well if he cared for me, he would have told them to go to hell and back again.
- You'd think the fact that they have gone to hell and back might be a helpful foundation.
- He heard someone walking towards him, some boy who looked like he had just gone through hell and back.
- He had gone through hell and back to save her after trying so hard to conceal the truth.
- I went to hell and back, but I wouldn't have it any other way.
- He would go to hell and back, and that is what he does.
- He would go to hell and back for her.
- ‘I went through hell and back and then back again,’ says the 31-year-old San Diego human resources executive.
- ‘I need to talk to you, Angel,’ he stated like a man who seemed to have gone to hell and back.
- ‘Every mother is prepared to go to hell and back for their children,’ says Carol.
- ‘I was so young, and I felt like I'd just gone to hell and back,’ he said.
- ‘I know, darling, I know,’ she said, ‘But your sister has gone to hell and back with this whole thing since then!’
- We went through hell and back during our training days.
- He was soaked with sweat and blood - although most of it wasn't his - and looked like he had gone through hell and back.
- Hey, you look like you've gone to hell and back.
- I always think of that last scene where he's gone through hell and back, then he looks deep in the mirror and sees himself from a new perspective.
I tore hell for leather out of my garage Example sentencesExamples - But we've got three short stages to do tomorrow and we'll just have to go hell for leather and make sure we overtake Marcus.
- Shoe shop manager Mark Haynes is a secret tough man, who likes nothing better than running hell for leather in the roughest of conditions.
- In case you haven't heard, this year's census will feature ‘Irish’ as an ethnic minority status for the first time - and Irish community leaders are going hell for leather to make sure it gets filled in.
- You are left with two choices - either you let it drift, and risk losing control over the argument, or you go hell for leather and actively push it forward.
- It looks like the allies are going hell for leather to get it over with.
- But we are going hell for leather to govern by ourselves.
- We have been working hell for leather to get it finished and it is a new, exciting learning curve for me, and I have got two great girls working for me.
- The wind machine goes hell for leather as the clouds in the moonlit sky float serenely.
- Both sides were still going hell for leather at the end of the match and the tackles continued to go flying in fiercely even as injury time ticked away.
- Careering towards her are four two-year-olds, pedalling hell for leather on miniature cars.
- But unless you're going hell for leather at your keyboard, don't put them at the end of every sentence you type!
- The muscles really get a good work out without going all hell for leather either.
- Outside rugby I'm a fairly placid guy but once I'm on the pitch I go hell for leather.
- I asked the lads at half-time to raise the profile of the game, to go hell for leather for the opening exchanges of the second half.
- People are going to be up there going hell for leather.
- Both managers chose to string five across the midfield, causing some congestion in that area, but it underlined their determination to go hell for leather in search of all three points.
- We know they'd go hell for leather for it… there was no question of complacency, it was just that our forwards did not click on the day, especially in the first half.
- The last movement, so easily a tiresome adjunct, was played hell for leather.
- Both sides went for it hell for leather on the restart.
- He was going hell for leather and the noises he was making were truly spectacular.
Synonyms as fast as possible, as quickly as possible, very fast, very quickly, very rapidly, very speedily, very swiftly, hurriedly, at full speed, at the double, at full tilt, at full pelt, headlong, hotfoot, post-haste, pell-mell, helter-skelter, at the speed of light, at breakneck speed, like an arrow from a bow
informal An exclamation of annoyance or anger. Hell's bells, Don, you're being unreasonable Example sentencesExamples - Hell's bells, what a huge show this turned out to be.
- But hell's bells, look at it again!
- This is not to say that I'm the most current human being on the face of the earth - hell's bells, I'm in my 70s.
- Well hell's bells, David certainly made that happen.
- No, I did not, but hell's bells, I'm glad it did!
- Now it's… it's… hell's bells we don't even know what this bit sounds like but it's genius whatever it is.
hell hath no fury like a woman scorned proverb A woman who has been rejected by a man can be ferociously angry and vindictive. Example sentencesExamples - Another recipient, who also wished to remain anonymous, said: ‘On the basis that hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, we can only guess the author must suspect her husband is being unfaithful and is very bitter.’
- They say that hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.
- As Kristine learned first hand on their date, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.
- They say hell hath no fury like a woman scorned and, as Susan Flockhart discovered, cyberspace has become the preferred instrument of revenge
- Oh, believe you me, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned!
- It's been said that hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, so just imagine what kind of trouble you could find from an angry god.
informal Used to emphasize something very bad or great. the car cost a hell of a lot of money Example sentencesExamples - If they had ever dared to broach the subject with me at the time, my poor parents would have had one hell of a lot of explaining to do.
- And I have to admit that there is one hell of a lot of good source material I could be using.
- It will take time and effort and money too, though a hell of a lot less than buying one legally.
- The reason the girls are outperforming the lads is because they work a hell of a lot harder.
- I am confident one hell of a lot will happen on the Waterfront over the next five years.
- The press had written me off, I've been through a hell of a lot but I came through.
- It cost them a hell of a lot more to rip it all up and restore it to its original condition when people abandoned it for the out of town mall.
- It doesn't seem like it now, but it was a hell of a lot of money back then.
- Assuming we get any takers at all in this mad scheme, it should be a hell of a lot of fun.
- Aren't we, by sending one or two artists to Venice, just spending a hell of a lot of money on a good party?
- Especially if one or both of the kids is home all day, it's one hell of a lot of work.
- It would need one hell of a lot of earthworms to digest that sort of quantity, and the beds and borders aren't getting any fuller.
- It takes a hell of a lot of money to put on this masquerade in front of the public.
- With these aircraft coming to the end of their lives, the cost of replacing them is a hell of a lot of money.
- Like a broken refrigerator, they're also capable of making one hell of a racket and a lot of tears.
- For that, cafe owners gained by selling me a hell of a lot of coffee while I surfed the web.
- Even its biggest advocates would have to admit that it really is one hell of a lot of hot air blowing slowly round the internet.
- They have asked Santa for bikes because they have a hell of a lot of cycling to do.
- I have been to a hell of a lot of South American and Central American countries.
- I am by no means a businesswoman, but I'm pretty sure you need one hell of a lot of money to open a station.
informal Used in verbal phrases to emphasize force, speed, etc. let's get the hell out of here Example sentencesExamples - There are plenty of people happy to earn a living kicking the hell out of the white working-class male.
- And it's starting to scare the hell out of me, because each one undermines the hope in the other.
- Suddenly you feel yourself resenting the hell out of the department store, the one with the famous name on the door.
- As a tourist, quite often getting a ride on a scooter, or moto, was the only way to get around and they scared the hell out of me.
- But he has irritated the hell out of people for years, so why has he lasted?
- They'll only succeed in annoying the hell out of us, and annoyed smokers calm down by lighting up.
- The potential was there to truly scare the hell out of the audience and at the same time deliver some good drama.
- I kind of live by the edict that I like to scare the hell out of myself sometimes.
- There's no point to them, they're filthy and they annoy the hell out of every other living creature on the planet.
- Jim can change from sensitive man to monster at the flick of a subconscious switch, and it scares the hell out of Mike.
- Heavier trains, you see, tend to bash the hell out of the infrastructure.
- I turned round to see one of these youths knocking the hell out of another bespectacled youth, not one of their party.
- If you want a car that scares the hell out of little old men and woman this is it.
- It annoys the hell out of me when other people do it, so this entry is probably annoying the hell out of someone else right now.
- I can honestly say, right now, the Internet is boring the hell out of me in a bigger way than at any other point in my eight years online.
- They could pick the hell out of it and find more mistakes than that.
- It frustrates the hell out of me because everybody knows how proud a man I am and how much I think about this football club.
- But for those who want nothing else I would say yeah, the movie is liable to scare the hell out of you.
- Anyway, in an obvious attempt to confuse the hell out of me, the postman woke me up today by hammering on the door.
- Ever wondered why your pet puss scratches the hell out of your favourite chair?
informal All over the place. she's running hell, west, and crooked Example sentencesExamples - They soon spread over the country, running hell, west and crooked, shaking off their packs and mixing things up generally.
- They were right in the thick of it, with shells landing hell, west and crooked, all round them.
- Hell, West and crooked is how a local woman describes the desert that surrounds The Hill.
- At the end of the day, the "miracle economy" and the "productivity gains" which are touted hell, west and crooked, are overstated.
- Usually very reserved, her husband was crashing around the living-room, sending magazines and knitting hell, west and crooked.
informal Used for emphasis. what in hell have you got there?
1informal Very fast, much, hard, etc. (used for emphasis) Example sentencesExamples - She's alive, and she's fighting like hell to live, and she's begging for help.
- Either way, you pay in full, and yes, it invariably hurts like hell.
- He'd been granted a purpose and was trying like hell to set a good example.
- Believe me there will be a time when you miss it like hell!
- One witness described Jackson as ‘fighting like hell with the steering wheel’ as he drove along at speed.
- I can't blame them if they do decide to leave, but I can't say I won't resent it like hell.
- I didn't really think about it much as I grew up, unless I bashed my hand against something then the tiny scar hurt like hell.
- I moved to this flat from the house opposite and we moved by standing on one side of the main road with a wardrobe, waiting for a gap in the traffic, and then running like hell.
- He runs like hell, shelters between a television news van and a car, and covers his nose and mouth with his T-shirt.
- You kick 'em in the spine when they're not looking and run like hell.
- I grabbed a spade and frantically dug a hole in the garden, hoping like hell my flatmate wouldn't turn up during the process.
- Two bites on my arm have come up and they itch like hell.
- I mean, we've had moments in which we've sweated like hell, but the end result has been astonishingly good.
- The story wouldn't be about winners, and winning, it would be about losers fighting like hell to avoid another loss.
- It really is a magnificent bruise and I have no doubt it hurts like hell.
- ‘But we all come to work like hell for a few years and then take our money home to Poland,’ he said.
- My legs hurt like hell though - was it the dog, or the cycling?
- Either way, it hurts like hell on my right side when I breathe in.
- All I know is that my mouth hurts like hell and I've about as much chance of getting in to see my dentist this week as I have getting into a size 10 dress.
- What I may end up doing is trying to get to work really early, then leaving work early and hoping like hell I get there before she leaves.
2informal Used in ironic expressions of scorn or disagreement. Example sentencesExamples - "Like hell you are," I tell him.
- Like hell he was going to let her win this easily, he thought angrily.
- Yeah, like hell it is.
play hell (or merry hell) the kids play merry hell until she tells them to go to bed at once Example sentencesExamples - This played hell with us in the classroom the next day as we would lose lots of sleep.
- Eventually I have always lost money, because these places sell drinks and that plays hell on my concentration.
- We caught up with her as she was driving home from a three hour trip along a mountainous Oregon highway that played hell with the cell-phone connection.
- On a beautiful, cloudless day it was utterly icy cold and there was a ‘lazy wind’ (it cuts straight through you rather than bothering to go round) that was playing hell with my attempts at backhand passes.
- The news played hell with the parents of the children, who were on the verge on going hysterical.
- But I would have played hell if it hadn't been offered.
- Trouble was, it never got done, until the doctor himself arrived and played merry hell because I hadn't been given anything to eat or drink for almost 2 days.
- The huge chunk of ice has played merry hell with the normal ocean currents, stopping much of the sea ice from breaking up during the Antarctic summer.
- You'll do anything to be near them, accepting pot after pot of coffee, even though it'll play hell with your plumbing.
- He wanted her gone because she was playing hell with his senses.
- Constant honking was heard throughout the day playing hell with a peaceful residential locality.
- When you can't eat, or get sick from antibiotics, which play hell with your stomach, when you can finally eat, Burger King seems very appealing.
- We found the leftmost track the easiest, but we're still talking tricky and they'll play hell with your pedalling rhythm, as the lane you're in ends with frustrating regularity and everyone else's lane looks a much better bet…
- Whatever force was playing merry hell with her life, she had the strong feeling that it wasn't through with them yet.
- Also, there was one weapon the enemy surprised us with in this campaign, and they played hell with us.
- My informant excused himself shortly afterwards, on the grounds that his associate would play merry hell if he was late for lunch.
- Labor's policy was to play merry hell with health, education and the police.
- The Sri Lankan cricketers are a worried lot, since their contracts have not been renewed yet with the officials playing merry hell according to information received by Rover.
- This fun series plays merry hell with biographical facts.
- 1.1Cause damage.
the rough road played hell with the tyres Example sentencesExamples - Sometimes I think these people would be annoyed if Jesus did return, because it would play hell with their fundraising.
- It plays hell with contact lenses and the officers' laptop computers, and clogs up weapons, which have to be cleaned daily.
- Of course, sand does play hell on your kit, but I don't really think that's the point the LA Times was trying to get across.
- It plays hell with your social life.
the road to hell is paved with good intentions proverb Promises and plans must be put into action, otherwise they are useless. Example sentencesExamples - It is said that the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
- But the road to hell is paved with good intentions that have already created far too much anguish and hatred.
- As many ambitious people find, however, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
- But, as soon becomes clear, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
- And so he discovers the road to hell is paved with good intentions and commonplace aspirations.
- While I wait for progress out of this mess I'll think of that puritan saying that the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
- Unfortunately, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
- So too, the national lottery, which promised a stairway to heaven, has to date served to confirm how often the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
- However, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
- And, of course, the road to hell is paved with good intentions…
- More in sorrow than in anger, Shawcross discovers anew that the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
- You know, the road to hell is paved with good intentions and all…
- To sum it up, the road to hell is paved with good intentions (of which the peace movement has many) but a lack of action now condemns people to life in its earthly equivalent.
- They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
- They say that the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
there will be hell to pay informal Serious trouble will occur as a result of a previous or proposed action. when I got it wrong, there would be hell to pay Example sentencesExamples - ‘You'd better calm down,’ William said harshly, ‘Because if she wakes up, there will be hell to pay.’
- It's obvious from the beginning that his secret will come out and there will be hell to pay when it does.
- But if they move us again, there will be hell to pay.
- These two reasons have one - and only one - undeniable, inevitable consequence: there are natural limits to these excesses, and when these limits are reached, there will be hell to pay!
- But when they cross the wrong guy, there will be hell to pay.
- And this house better be spotless when we get back, or there will be hell to pay!
- But he had better keep his promise or there will be hell to pay.
- If the headmaster finds out there will be hell to pay.
- If we don't say goodbye to her, there will be hell to pay.
- If she gets out of line and doesn't heed their first warning, then they promised there will be hell to pay for strike two!
- And if it turns out ultimately that he had nothing to do with anything, no doubt there will be hell to pay.
- If you want to change things now, just because you've run into a few difficulties or to renegotiate the deal, then there will be hell to pay.
- And if you start fighting over the blankets there will be hell to pay.
- But don't you dare try to leave us, or there will be hell to pay.
- In time he'll probably succeed in taking most of the party with him, but there will be hell to pay.
- My mom will be wondering where I am by now, she might have actually noticed I'm not there, and there will be hell to pay if I miss dinner!
- I'm sure there will be hell to pay at some point this week.
- One day, you will be caught while coming in, and then there will be hell to pay.
- No, we're going to have to trust him, for now - with the caveat that there will be hell to pay if they lie to us.
- If work does not commence on the proposed sewerage scheme for the town within one month there will be hell to pay.
Example sentencesExamples - She just had to keep talking to him, and hope to hell that the ambulance would get here soon.
- Damn it to hell, Judy.
- Here in Aussie we just get on with partying 24 hours a day and to hell with the consequences.
- She hoped to hell it wasn't to make Jess want to see him, because it wasn't going to work.
- She hoped to hell that Thomas would ask her if she would help him.
- Damn it all, damn it all to hell.
- I have never seen him like that before, and I hope to hell that I never have to again.
- I coughed and quickly adjusted my voice, hoping to hell he hadn't noticed the crack.
informal Expressing one's scorn or lack of concern for (someone or something). Example sentencesExamples - Okay, this may be a slightly biased vantage point, but to hell with that.
- We say to hell with waiting; jump into the fray now and be part of the process of developing technologies relevant to our own cause.
- At that point the cops either got their orders or decided to hell with it; they were streaming past us on all sides.
- These characters have a tendency to pass moral judgments based on their beliefs, and to hell with what anyone else thinks.
- Finally, I said to hell with that, and I pulled my car across the road completely blocking traffic.
- Okay, my next two selections are on the basis that you have the money, so you want some thing that you like, and to hell with what the board thinks.
- It is more like a total lack of inhibition, and to hell with any consequences.
- It's really too dark for my pale skin, but sometimes you wake up in the morning and think: to hell with that.
- To hell with quality, to hell with life, to hell with savoring the moment.
- But when they started attacking the Chinese, I thought, to hell with them.
- The individual as the supreme representation of Australian society and to hell with our traditional egalitarianism.
- Seek out like-minded people and to hell with what unfriendly breeders might think.
- Oh, to hell with it, I'm entitled to complain if I want to.
- So, long-time readers may remember something of this story, but to hell with you, I'm writing it anyway.
- Now we have plastic bin liners, which makes the bin-man's job much healthier and cleaner - but to hell with the housewife!
- It was about a relationship that wasn't acceptable but the punchline of the film was that they really did love each other, and to hell with everyone else.
- I'd like to just tell him to do whatever he wants to and to hell with how I feel, but I can't really believe that he would actually need me to give him a sign.
- I find knitting and quilting very meditative and say to hell with anyone who says derogatory things about it/me.
- Now that is a case of saying, ‘if you want what I am offering then vote for me or to hell with you.’
- We should have stuck to our guns, people tell me, and to hell with Liverpool and to hell with the Tory leadership.
until (or till) hell freezes over they will have to wait until hell freezes over Example sentencesExamples - He says he'll be honored to welcome the President but won't change his mind until hell freezes over.
- Helen Clark will be standing ready until hell freezes over to enter into negotiations with the United States.
- ‘I am prepared to wait for my answer until hell freezes over,’ Stevenson says.
- It fascinates me that I could water the grass till hell freezes over and nothing and one shower of rain and the place turns green.
- At this time any informed Canberra observer knows that we will be waiting until hell freezes over.
- They will be at the old game of points-scoring till hell freezes over.
- Do tell him that he has already been civil and supportive, but now is the time to be silent, or he will be her pen pal - if not more - until hell freezes over.
- Before I write more, because I could write on these subjects until hell freezes over, I'll turn it over to you.
- If someone is doing a good job, they can keep electing him/her until hell freezes over.
- One man proclaimed, ‘We'll fight them, sir, till hell freezes over, and then, sir, we will fight them on the ice.’
- That's the way it has been since 1948 and that is the way it is destined to stay till hell freezes over.
- Clarke responded, ‘Well, they'll say that until hell freezes over.’
Synonyms forever, permanently, for always, for good and all, perpetually, eternally, evermore, for evermore, for ever and ever, for all time, for all future time, to the end of time, until the end of time, world without end, endlessly, timelessly, for eternity, in perpetuity, everlastingly, enduringly, never to return
you're already going to be home late, so what the hell Example sentencesExamples - He ran the race illegally, changed the rules to suit himself, but he came first so what the hell.
- It's more than we can really afford, but what the hell, we don't do this every day.
- What the hell - if the stuff doesn't work, it'll make my flat look cool.
- It was a stupid decision, but what the hell, it was made, and should have been implemented.
- That doesn't sound very wise and mature to me, but what the hell, you got to do what you got to do.
- You're already going to be home late, so what the hell, take it easy, give your weary eyes and brain a break.
- I'm sure more blogs will comment on this before long, but what the hell, I'm still going to.
- At first I didn't want to, didn't really see the point but then I thought what the hell.
- As I shut the door, I looked at the still full bowl of sweets and thought, what the hell.
- At this rate, the house will already be warm by the time it happens, but what the hell.
- I am the typical poor friend and relative who leaches off others, but what the hell, I go.
- I had no desire to ever do something like that, but I said what the hell and took it.
- I had to go past it again the other day, so I thought, what the hell, give it a try.
- I get the feeling I may encounter some resistance to this choice, but what the hell.
- I can't think of much to celebrate on that front but what the hell, it's a damn decent bottle of red.
- He was a little baffled as to why anyone would want to, but I say what the hell.
- I had to get out of bed to cook it but what the hell, Mrs Sticker was appreciative.
- My life is really too shallow and boring for a blog but what the hell, nobody actually had to read it.
- So I don't get much chance to eat, never mind see my family, but what the hell?
2Used to express anger, contempt, or disbelief. What the hell, Jane? You're hanging me out to dry?
Derivatives adverb & adjective Leaving means the chaos and carnage spiral ever faster hellward. Example sentencesExamples - They are represented as performing the hellward journey on, as we infer, benevolent missions.
- They flew with their breasts turned heavenward and their backs faced hellward.
- Is the world hurtling hellward even faster than usual, or is it just me?
Origin Old English hel, hell, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch hel and German Hölle, from an Indo-European root meaning 'to cover or hide'. Hell descends from an ancient Indo-European root with the sense ‘to cover, hide’ which also gave rise to Latin celare (root of conceal (Middle English) and occult) and to English hole (see hold), helmet (Late Middle English), and heel ‘to set a plant in the ground and cover its roots’. This was originally unconnected with the Old English word for the part of the foot, but rather came from helian ‘cover’. The infernal regions are regarded as a place of torment or punishment, and many curses and exclamations, such as a hell of a— or one hell of a—, depend on this. These expressions used to be shocking, and until the early 20th century were usually printed as h—l or h—. Alterations such as heck (late 19th century) served the same softening purpose in speech as well as in writing. The saying hell hath no fury like a woman scorned is a near quotation from a 1697 play by William Congreve: ‘Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned, Nor Hell a fury like a woman scorned.’ The dramatist Colley Cibber had used very similar words just a year earlier, and the idea was commonplace in the Renaissance. It can be traced back to the Greek dramatist Euripides of the 5th century bc. Strictly the ‘fury’ is one of the Furies of Greek mythology, frightening goddesses who avenged wrong and punished crime, but most people now use and interpret it in the sense ‘wild or violent anger’. The proverb the road to hell is paved with good intentions dates from the late 16th century, but earlier forms existed which omitted the first three words. Grumpy and misanthropic people everywhere will agree with the French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre who wrote in 1944: ‘Hell is other people.’
Rhymes Adele, Aix-la-Chapelle, aquarelle, artel, au naturel, bagatelle, béchamel, befell, bell, belle, boatel, Brunel, Cadell, carousel, cartel, cell, Chanel, chanterelle, clientele, Clonmel, compel, Cornell, crime passionnel, dell, demoiselle, dispel, dwell, el, ell, Estelle, excel, expel, farewell, fell, Fidel, fontanelle, foretell, Gabrielle, gazelle, gel, Giselle, hotel, impel, knell, lapel, mademoiselle, maître d'hôtel, Manuel, marcel, matériel, mesdemoiselles, Michel, Michelle, Miguel, misspell, morel, moschatel, Moselle, motel, muscatel, nacelle, Nell, Nobel, Noel, organelle, outsell, Parnell, pell-mell, personnel, propel, quell, quenelle, rappel, Raquel, Ravel, rebel, repel, Rochelle, Sahel, sardelle, sell, shell, show-and-tell, smell, Snell, spell, spinel, swell, tell, undersell, vielle, villanelle, well, yell Definition of hell in US English: hellnounhelhɛl 1A place regarded in various religions as a spiritual realm of evil and suffering, often traditionally depicted as a place of perpetual fire beneath the earth where the wicked are punished after death. Example sentencesExamples - Do you want reliable answers concerning issues like life, forgiveness, death, heaven or hell?
- I believe I am making my own hell or heaven now and that my after life will be what I deserve.
- Heaven and hell are eternal states with no movement of people from one to the other.
- We must always remember that the purifying fires of heaven are hotter than the fires of hell.
- All those whose names are not written in the book of life will be thrown into hell, the lake of fire, and the sentence will be eternal.
- Then the soul is sent either to heaven to enjoy the fruits of a decent life or condemned to eternal hell and damnation forever.
- They conceived the idea that God dwells within each person and that heaven and hell exist here and now on earth.
- No criminal could be as cruel as the God who would consign human beings to a hell.
- The hell of this world is all the hell I will endure and it is all the heaven unbelievers will ever enjoy.
- Like everyone else I know, I am a first-timer on this earth and can shed no light on the existence of an afterlife or heaven and hell.
- It teaches that there is no eternal hell or damnation and every soul has the capacity to realize the Truth.
- If this is true, then the burning fires of hell would be the coziest place imaginable.
- In that explanation, the hell realm was in the depths of the earth.
- So God's holiness makes hell as inevitable as his love makes heaven.
- But I'm committed to the teaching of the scriptures that there is a heaven and a hell.
Synonyms the netherworld, the abode of the dead, the land of the dead, the infernal regions, the inferno, the nether regions, the abyss - 1.1 A state or place of great suffering; an unbearable experience.
Example sentencesExamples - The stories from those inside haunts anyone who hears them, and this is perhaps the closest thing to a living hell.
- After the death, staff at the home became intolerably cruel to her and made her life a living hell.
- It truly has been the closest thing to a living hell that I've ever experienced.
- Jail is in many ways worse anyway, with life inside being a living hell.
- It attracts the drug trade and expands it and simply makes life a living hell.
- I may as well live in a fiery inferno, for God's sake, because my life has become a living hell!
- You vow you're going to make his/her life a living hell as long as you are alive.
- Before long, an unspeakable hell of gunfire, death and destruction surround you.
- The mold, the weather, and my sinuses are conspiring to make my life a living hell.
- For my husband and thousands like him, life really is a living hell.
- Why do you continue to make my life a living hell now you are dead?
- You can say that your life has been a living hell for the last few months.
- He spent six weeks in a living hell all because of his thoughtlessness!
- That girl, now that I think back, showed me that not all girls were like those ones who had made my life hell at such an impressionable age.
- A callous dog owner has escaped going to jail after making his pet's life a living hell of prolonged torment.
- The people around him had no idea that it was really a living hell for him.
- It's marvellous for two days, then you feel like you're in a living hell.
- They are suffering terribly but their mind is perfect, so it is a living hell.
- It's been going on for three years - it's a living hell and we've decided enough is enough.
- If you know what local television is like in the Philippines you know what a living hell it was.
Synonyms a misery, purgatory, hell on earth, torture, agony, a torment, a nightmare, an ordeal, a trauma
exclamationhelhɛl 1Used to express annoyance or surprise or for emphasis. oh, hell—where will this all end? hell, no, we were all married Example sentencesExamples - I don't see any dishonour in this at all; hell, isn't it how Parliament is supposed to work?
- We don't even mind that you came up with the next new year first; hell, we're used to it.
- Japan is actually bigger than the UK, bigger than Italy - hell, it's even bigger than Germany.
- Green was the color of their clothes and equipment and, hell, the name stuck.
- It also says to people smuggling drugs - hell, if you're caught, you might as well shoot it out.
- I like games and I know they can be addictive but, hell, killing over one is just plain stupid.
- Don't give it a second thought; hell, most other magazine editors don't.
- Without the blues, there is no Elvis or Chuck Berry, no Rolling Stones and, hell, no Justin Timberlake.
- He responded that he certainly had an opinion about the movie - hell, he made it, in fact.
- I checked the ticket in the machine and the parking was free of charge - hell, what a bonus.
- I suppose it hurt because, hell, no girl likes having another girl picked over her.
- Plus we love our food and, hell, we were stuck with each other for fatter or thinner.
- I tried to work out if they were pitying or despising me but, hell, it made no difference.
- I guess it was going to happen sooner or later - hell, I predicted it about a month ago.
- She was sure the neighbours could hear them as well - hell, the whole terrace could probably hear them.
- As a matter of fact, nobody else in the whole Australian squad could but, hell, with Warne you just never know.
- I went to this cheap salon in Madison, the girl put some fluid on my head and, hell, my hair went green and hard.
- We will not come out with a firm argument this week - hell, we might not even print this issue.
- You can't afford a gun safety class; hell, you can barely afford the gun.
Synonyms damn, damnation, blast, hell, heck, gordon bennett - 1.1the hellinformal Expressing anger, contempt, or disbelief.
Example sentencesExamples - If there are no ghosts, then who the hell are all these people?
- If we're not part of the generation that took the kids, then who the hell is Mr Howard talking about?
- Oh, I think you've got it all right, but whatever the hell it is you've got, keep it the hell away from me!
- Before she could do anything like get the hell away from a situation she didn't want to face he gave her a slightly stern Look.
- The first, and perhaps greatest issue, is why the hell are the deaths censored as much as they are in this game?
- Oh hell, have I been elected the head of this little project or something?
Phrases informal Used for emphasis. Example sentencesExamples - I sure as hell wouldn't want to be treated as second fiddle, so why do some of us treat others that way?
- I'm still out here, running free and as guilty as hell.
- I don't care how pretty they are: there isn't a chance in hell that the new version can offer up a cast to beat that.
- The abuse was vicious and unrelenting and there wasn't a chance in hell that it would go unchallenged.
- He sure as hell hates losing and doesn't just want win, he wants to rub it in.
- I think you just need one in order to give you a hope in hell of not reverting to form…
- With a famous director father and fabulous superstar mum, Liza never stood a hope in hell of achieving normality.
- I had no hope in hell of catching him in the flesh but I hope to be a nightly fixture in his nightmares for years to come.
- I thought it was funny as hell, and kept laughing throughout the day every time I thought of it.
- She could be fine as hell, but if you have conflicting issues all the time, it's not gonna work.
- It is his first choice, but he says he hasn't a hope in hell of getting in.
- Are they now going to pay my direct debits which are due this week because I sure as hell can't without my tax credits?
- If I were a prospective sponsor and looked at their site, I'd sure as hell change my mind.
- Tallis, professor of geriatric medicine at Manchester, is mad as hell and he's not going to take any more.
- Tom Chaplin and the boys are back and this time they are mad as hell.
- There's no way in hell any one person can take in all the shows, and so clues must be searched out.
- There is no chance in hell of the Coalition leaving Labor with a massive surplus.
- We sure as hell ought to be able to do it the second time in less time than the first, if nothing else.
- For starters the presentation sucks, and I don't have a hope in hell of figuring out how to design a decent title bar.
- But it's sure as hell got to be the best way, the only way, to mainline pure adrenaline in the cinema.
- If you know my wife you'll know that she's not into the stereotypical ideals I have no hope in hell of competing with.
- There's no way in hell I'm not going to end up completely losing any ID card I get.
- If he can't be honest about his own past, how in hell are we expected to believe him when he talks about the major issues.
- All the other teams saw us putting up ours so began theirs, but only Carrie's team has a hope in hell of beating our masterpiece.
- What in hell would they think of the metal gizmo we'd plunked down on their back yards?
- If that's being politically correct than we sure as hell know what side of the argument we're on.
- So with everyone describing me as a Scottish painter, I reckoned I didn't have a hope in hell.
- There's no chance of escape and there was no way in hell I was going to make it known that I am in the adjacent room.
- There is no way in hell they want to be part of what, in essence, would be the new crusades.
- Once thing is true, there is no way in hell you can be a meaningful councillor and an MP at the same time.
- What in hell does one's husband or wife have to do with anybody's ability to perform a job?
- It's not great art or anything, but their drummer sure as hell earns the money.
- There are magazines on the coffee table in front of me, and I'm feeling nervous as hell.
- He looks as guilty as hell and I realise we would be denying cruel destiny if I did not now make it my business to find out what he thinks he is guilty of.
- Either he was drunk as hell or just as stupid as hell… well… he was probably both.
- I woke up this morning somewhat before my alarm went off, feeling nauseous as hell.
- However, she's also mad as hell and really isn't going to take it anymore.
- We were stubborn as hell but we were hanging on by our fingernails.
- There was no way in hell I was eating that so I settled for a meat and potato pie.
- And with that he left the room, leaving Craig feeling as guilty as hell for something he doesn't remember doing.
informal Be very unpleasant or harmful to. summer can be hell on a man's skin Example sentencesExamples - I cringed, this all must have been hell on his burnt hand.
- Only problem is, driving around with 2,000 pounds of papers in my back seat is hell on my car.
- The impact was hell on his new bullet wounds and he found that he was bleeding quite profusely.
- It would be hell on business, though, so we skip it.
- Going back to Standard Time is hell on us nightowls.
- Then we told him that almost flying into mountains is hell on the nervous system, not fun.
- Hey, from the looks of it, it's been hell on you, too.
- Going through old blog stuff is hell on the brain.
- Health foods need not be hell on your tastebuds.
- This was hell on horse's hooves, considering the hot pavement they had to walk on for much of the way.
- Staying at all those run-down places has been hell on my back.
- But the after effects were hell on her mind and body.
- We're in one of those no-fun-news cycles, which is hell on a guy who likes a happy cocktail with his evening reading.
- War is hell on a president and his approval ratings.
- Have I ever mentioned this knight-in-shining-armor thing is hell on the muscles?
Whatever difficulties may occur. Example sentencesExamples - Montreal merchants, worried that the newly-opened Erie Canal will sap business to New York, decide to build a canal of their own come hell or high water.
- It wouldn't be because you had already made up your mind on what you were determined to do, come hell or high water, would it?
- I wanted more, I wanted a baby come hell or high water.
- I hate confrontations with a passion but I wasn't going to back down, come hell or high water.
- Once a good design solution is found that totally suits the product, it is stuck with consistently come hell or high water, like a good piece of product design that you know just doesn't need any more tinkering with.
- Reporters cultivate an image of dogged truth-seekers who kick up rocks and report what they find come hell or high water.
- This is probably a good enough reason, by itself, why the elections should go ahead, come hell or high water.
- I really like her work, so I was pretty much going to go and see this show come hell or high water.
- They were there to hear some great blues, and come hell or high water, they were going to hear it.
- Like my long-suffering employee, I want my money to be in my bank account come hell or high water with all the deductions already made, all the expenses already claimed and I don't want to have to fill in any more forms about it.
- A quarter of a century earlier a young man and woman promised to wed each other, come hell or high water.
- But it looks like that won't happen, so, come hell or high water, I am getting a job at Starbucks.
- I am a sceptic and believe this government is committed to membership come hell or high water.
- Either way the Dominican College is determined to maintain the rugby ethos, come hell or high water.
- Madge replied: ‘Oh yes, that's just my husband Syd, I told him he was going to cut the grass today come hell or high water!’
- This decision to remain silent will disappoint readers who expect The Detroit News to stand with the Republican presidential candidate come hell or high water.
- The Alien agrees to ensure, come hell or high water, that he attends the scheduled appointment, as the prospect of attempting to reschedule is unthinkable.
- By now I was determined I was going to preach that sermon come hell or high water.
- Since she is teetering on the brink of one of her moods, this is an outing that will come to fruition come hell or high water.
- The strategy is pretty much the same as that drawn up by the Romans: Find and support local strongmen who can deliver the goods to the imperial capital, come hell or high water.
Synonyms by some means, by any means, by any means whatsoever, in some way, one way or another, in one way or another, no matter how, somehow or other, by fair means or foul, by hook or by crook, come what may, come hell or high water
she walked on window ledges for the hell of it Example sentencesExamples - I'm curious what other extreme sports you might be into or just have tried for the hell of it.
- I'm never tied down; few things could keep me from flying to Fiji tomorrow, just for the hell of it.
- If you read the small print on their extremely lengthy content guidelines they basically add a clause that says they can simply delete a site if they feel like doing so, just for the hell of it!
- To get round this - and, I'm sure, just for the hell of it - the doors have two hinges, the second about a foot in from the first.
- They bring you down, only to bring you back up again, just for the hell of it.
- In tinder-dry conditions, the fire service could do without reckless idiots setting fires just for the hell of it.
- My favourite kind of lie is the pointless but plausible lie; the odd nugget of needless fiction dropped into conversation just for the hell of it.
- Request a matching waistcoat just for the hell of it.
- I've had more fun this last week than I can remember having in a long time, which just goes to show - sometimes you should do stuff just for the hell of it.
- Just for the hell of it, I went back and tried 4 tickets, which also worked.
- I decided to give myself a one-second burst just for the hell of it.
- We'd watch cars and people going by just for the hell of it.
- Eventually I'll review all the movies I've seen, just for the hell of it.
- Now, I don't disrespect McDonalds for the hell of it - they're a successful machine that works very well.
- I've used Pythagoras' Theorem about twice - just for the hell of it.
- Or do we have a lot more criminals interfering with other people's property just for the hell of it?
- I've known academics who speak Latin for the hell of it.
- What I haven't tried at least once for the hell of it, I think I could figure out.
- Maybe I'll drive around the block a few times just for the hell of it.
- It's not just photographing your life for 24 hours for the hell of it or the pure vanity.
informal An extremely unpleasant or troublesome instance or example of something. I've got a hangover from hell Example sentencesExamples - I have the headache from hell, my throat is killing me, and my sinuses hurt.
- We're in the middle of what they said would be Tony's week from hell.
- However, we all seem to have the cold from hell at the moment, so this organisation could all go rapidly down hill in the near future.
- Residents living in a Penhill street are celebrating the end of a family from hell's reign of abuse and intimidation.
- Lucas also finished his job from hell on Friday so we went out for a long big breakfast on Saturday morning to celebrate.
- I felt as if I got smashed last night and was now experiencing the hangover from hell.
- Some people go on holiday to get away from the neighbours from hell.
- Landlords have expressed concerns over a crackdown on neighbours from hell.
- An innovative help group for residents whose lives are blighted by neighbours from hell will be piloted in two York areas.
- I woke up this morning with one of my headaches from hell - the kind that makes my whole body shiver and turns my head into a cannonball.
- My next door neighbours have turned into the customers from hell.
- In this service station from hell, there was one diesel pump open.
- The other guests must have thought it was their holiday from hell.
- The torment imposed by neighbours from hell can go on for years.
- Holidaymakers have told of their charter flight from hell that should have taken four hours - but lasted two days.
- Unfortunately, they forgot to include surviving the honeymoon from hell in their vows.
- If you are a normal, hard working, sensible teacher, this is your week from hell.
- A programme about neighbours from hell is guaranteed to get me put into a psychiatric ward for my own safety.
- You could be caught on camera when a mobile CCTV unit takes to Southend's streets to snoop on neighbours from hell.
- A Swindon family had a holiday from hell in a Spanish hotel where hundreds of guests were struck down with a mystery bug.
Synonyms horrible, rotten, awful, terrible, dreadful, ghastly, horrid, vile, foul, abominable, appalling, atrocious, horrendous, frightful
informal Be severely reprimanded. Paul kept his mouth shut and looked apologetic—we got hell I'm going to catch hell if she reads this Example sentencesExamples - But the chauffeur knew he'd get hell from her if he didn't help her, so he quickly extended his hand to her.
- Neither one of us wants to have children, because we feel that passing on our genes would be a form of child abuse (sure, they're great in adults, but kids like us get hell in school).
- If I didn't already tell you, I was a prima ballerina… if anyone reading this can think of a more manly name for ballerina, please let me know, because I got hell in school because of it.
- Of course, nothing is sweeter to a kid than imagining their parent getting hell from some other bigger older parent.
- Or just about anything, because trying to spare the person that I'm seeing or involved with at that time because it seems to be a lot of - I mean, he's probably going to get hell if he went home, if he said the truth and went home.
- Did I ever get hell from my dad about it - he wasn't as violent back then, but he sure roughed me up a lot.
- If I hear any fighting you're going to get hell, okay mister?
- He's going to get hell about the mess here though.
- I was going to get hell for that whenever I return to school after the cruise.
- He had probably spent four hours getting hell from her for what she had read in my journals.
- There's no way you could have gone home as drunk as you were and not get hell from your aunt, so you must have crashed somewhere.
- They are going to get hell when the social worker visits next month from the police.
- I get hell when I get home: ‘These stains will NEVER come out.’
- Randy still wasn't comfortable telling anyone Calvin's name; for fear that Calvin could get hell from the police.
- ‘In the forest…’ Christopher trailed off, knowing he was going to get hell for a response like that.
Synonyms be severely reprimanded, be upbraided, be scolded, get a scolding, be admonished, be castigated, be rebuked, be chastised, be censured, be criticized severely, be taken to task, get into trouble, be hauled over the coals
informal Severely reprimand or make things very unpleasant for someone. Example sentencesExamples - I'm looking forward to going over there and giving them hell.
- I keep screwing up the spelling on people's names, and my editor gives me hell for it.
- I can hear that screechy voice of hers giving me hell - but she took care of me.
- I took the plunge to be different even if others give me hell for it.
- All I can say is that if it happened here, the court would really give him hell for wasting its time.
- Indeed, he usually proceeded with the air of a man on his way to give somebody hell.
- And I will give him hell from the cradle to the grave.
- I know of another man who bought his daughter a car for her 21st birthday and she wrote it off when she wrapped it around a telegraph pole while doing 70 miles and hour and his wife gave him hell for getting the girl such a fast car.
- I'm going to give you hell, but I love every one of you.
- All I do is to tell them the truth, and that hurts a lot worse than giving them hell.
- After laying down like a dead thing all day she found enough fight to give me hell.
- He has got to have oxygen because his lungs are giving him hell.
- In the end, she decided to show him, knowing she would be given hell if he ever found out that she knew and didn't tell him.
- If your eyes are still a wreck after all that effort, complain to your coworkers that your new contact lenses are giving you hell, even if you don't wear any.
- It was a week since Robert had left and Victoria was giving Clara hell.
- Because Vera refused to do her work, Bridget has been giving her hell.
- Driving him home, I gave him hell, in my tired, hungover way.
- Back in the late 80s and early 90s, feminists within liberal groups would give you hell if you talked about women like that.
- He's been giving me hell ever since they got engaged.
- But he was giving Connie hell when I left the house this morning to look for you.
Synonyms reprimand severely, rebuke, admonish, chastise, chide, upbraid, reprove, reproach, scold, remonstrate with, berate, take to task, pull up, castigate, lambaste, read someone the riot act, give someone a piece of one's mind, haul over the coals, lecture, criticize, censure harass, hound, plague, badger, harry, pester, bother, worry, annoy, trouble, bully, intimidate, pick on, bait, molest, bedevil, victimize, terrorize
informal Used to express angry rejection of someone or something. Example sentencesExamples - Whosoever is offended by its statements must pack and go to hell!
- My feelings can go to hell; I'm assured that the rest of me is going there anyway.
- I asked him to leave the room, put on the rest of my clothes, knocked on his office door, told him to go to hell, and left.
- Bobby will come in for severe criticism from the press later, but they can all go to hell.
- My knee is jiggling under the desk, my focus has vanished and this flier I'm working on can go to hell.
- I know I was being slightly irrational, but at this point logic could go to hell as far as I was concerned.
- But as far as I am concerned, all those fancy words can go to hell for this is where I love and long to be.
- I wish I didn't need his money and I could tell him to go to hell but truth is, without his donation they wouldn't be able to go to school camp.
- Yesterday, he threatened to boycott today's proceedings and told the judge to go to hell.
- Lengthy as it is, this method at least makes it less likely that you will cast a vote for someone who thinks you should go to hell.
- We must also stop granting planning permission for major developments with huge car parks on the basis that everyone has a car and the rest of us can go to hell.
- Sometimes I get mail from extremist religious people who think I should go to hell.
- They simply want what they want and God can go to hell for all they care if he stands in the way of what they want.
- So as far as I am concerned your unhappily married personage can go to hell.
- He told them to go to hell since he could afford a funeral and consolation banquet for his brother at a much lower sum.
- She has the unbelievably rare quality of being able to tell you how go to hell when needed.
- In his arms, her form captured in his cold blue eyes, she was home, safe and the world could go to hell for all it mattered to her.
- Enough of all of that, for me work will not exist for the next few days, self preservation has taken over and they can go to hell.
- He told the judge to go to hell, declared he won't be coming back and complained once again about life as a detainee.
- As long as he can show his personal badge of aerobic involvement, the environment, we may presume, can go to hell.
go to (or through) hell and back Endure an extremely unpleasant or difficult experience. Example sentencesExamples - He would go to hell and back for her.
- ‘I need to talk to you, Angel,’ he stated like a man who seemed to have gone to hell and back.
- ‘I know, darling, I know,’ she said, ‘But your sister has gone to hell and back with this whole thing since then!’
- Lance you have to clean your room, or at least help us, it looks like it went through hell and back, more then once.
- She has gone to hell and back but mum has always been there for us.
- I went to hell and back, but I wouldn't have it any other way.
- ‘Every mother is prepared to go to hell and back for their children,’ says Carol.
- He heard someone walking towards him, some boy who looked like he had just gone through hell and back.
- You went to hell and back out there… I have no idea what your strategy was.
- He had gone through hell and back to save her after trying so hard to conceal the truth.
- Hey, you look like you've gone to hell and back.
- Well if he cared for me, he would have told them to go to hell and back again.
- We went through hell and back during our training days.
- ‘I went through hell and back and then back again,’ says the 31-year-old San Diego human resources executive.
- He was soaked with sweat and blood - although most of it wasn't his - and looked like he had gone through hell and back.
- ‘I was so young, and I felt like I'd just gone to hell and back,’ he said.
- You'd think the fact that they have gone to hell and back might be a helpful foundation.
- He'd gone through hell and back, and almost died.
- I always think of that last scene where he's gone through hell and back, then he looks deep in the mirror and sees himself from a new perspective.
- He would go to hell and back, and that is what he does.
Example sentencesExamples - Both sides were still going hell for leather at the end of the match and the tackles continued to go flying in fiercely even as injury time ticked away.
- But we are going hell for leather to govern by ourselves.
- But we've got three short stages to do tomorrow and we'll just have to go hell for leather and make sure we overtake Marcus.
- I asked the lads at half-time to raise the profile of the game, to go hell for leather for the opening exchanges of the second half.
- The muscles really get a good work out without going all hell for leather either.
- He was going hell for leather and the noises he was making were truly spectacular.
- The wind machine goes hell for leather as the clouds in the moonlit sky float serenely.
- It looks like the allies are going hell for leather to get it over with.
- The last movement, so easily a tiresome adjunct, was played hell for leather.
- Both managers chose to string five across the midfield, causing some congestion in that area, but it underlined their determination to go hell for leather in search of all three points.
- Careering towards her are four two-year-olds, pedalling hell for leather on miniature cars.
- People are going to be up there going hell for leather.
- In case you haven't heard, this year's census will feature ‘Irish’ as an ethnic minority status for the first time - and Irish community leaders are going hell for leather to make sure it gets filled in.
- Shoe shop manager Mark Haynes is a secret tough man, who likes nothing better than running hell for leather in the roughest of conditions.
- We know they'd go hell for leather for it… there was no question of complacency, it was just that our forwards did not click on the day, especially in the first half.
- But unless you're going hell for leather at your keyboard, don't put them at the end of every sentence you type!
- You are left with two choices - either you let it drift, and risk losing control over the argument, or you go hell for leather and actively push it forward.
- We have been working hell for leather to get it finished and it is a new, exciting learning curve for me, and I have got two great girls working for me.
- Both sides went for it hell for leather on the restart.
- Outside rugby I'm a fairly placid guy but once I'm on the pitch I go hell for leather.
Synonyms as fast as possible, as quickly as possible, very fast, very quickly, very rapidly, very speedily, very swiftly, hurriedly, at full speed, at the double, at full tilt, at full pelt, headlong, hotfoot, post-haste, pell-mell, helter-skelter, at the speed of light, at breakneck speed, like an arrow from a bow
informal An exclamation of annoyance or anger. Example sentencesExamples - Now it's… it's… hell's bells we don't even know what this bit sounds like but it's genius whatever it is.
- This is not to say that I'm the most current human being on the face of the earth - hell's bells, I'm in my 70s.
- No, I did not, but hell's bells, I'm glad it did!
- Hell's bells, what a huge show this turned out to be.
- But hell's bells, look at it again!
- Well hell's bells, David certainly made that happen.
hell hath no fury like a woman scorned proverb A woman who has been rejected by a man can be ferociously angry and vindictive. Example sentencesExamples - It's been said that hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, so just imagine what kind of trouble you could find from an angry god.
- Oh, believe you me, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned!
- They say that hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.
- As Kristine learned first hand on their date, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.
- They say hell hath no fury like a woman scorned and, as Susan Flockhart discovered, cyberspace has become the preferred instrument of revenge
- Another recipient, who also wished to remain anonymous, said: ‘On the basis that hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, we can only guess the author must suspect her husband is being unfaithful and is very bitter.’
informal Used to emphasize something very bad or great. it cost us a hell of a lot of money Example sentencesExamples - The reason the girls are outperforming the lads is because they work a hell of a lot harder.
- I am confident one hell of a lot will happen on the Waterfront over the next five years.
- It cost them a hell of a lot more to rip it all up and restore it to its original condition when people abandoned it for the out of town mall.
- Assuming we get any takers at all in this mad scheme, it should be a hell of a lot of fun.
- It would need one hell of a lot of earthworms to digest that sort of quantity, and the beds and borders aren't getting any fuller.
- With these aircraft coming to the end of their lives, the cost of replacing them is a hell of a lot of money.
- It will take time and effort and money too, though a hell of a lot less than buying one legally.
- It doesn't seem like it now, but it was a hell of a lot of money back then.
- Even its biggest advocates would have to admit that it really is one hell of a lot of hot air blowing slowly round the internet.
- Aren't we, by sending one or two artists to Venice, just spending a hell of a lot of money on a good party?
- And I have to admit that there is one hell of a lot of good source material I could be using.
- Like a broken refrigerator, they're also capable of making one hell of a racket and a lot of tears.
- It takes a hell of a lot of money to put on this masquerade in front of the public.
- The press had written me off, I've been through a hell of a lot but I came through.
- I am by no means a businesswoman, but I'm pretty sure you need one hell of a lot of money to open a station.
- I have been to a hell of a lot of South American and Central American countries.
- For that, cafe owners gained by selling me a hell of a lot of coffee while I surfed the web.
- If they had ever dared to broach the subject with me at the time, my poor parents would have had one hell of a lot of explaining to do.
- They have asked Santa for bikes because they have a hell of a lot of cycling to do.
- Especially if one or both of the kids is home all day, it's one hell of a lot of work.
1informal Very fast, much, hard, etc. (used for emphasis) Example sentencesExamples - Believe me there will be a time when you miss it like hell!
- Either way, you pay in full, and yes, it invariably hurts like hell.
- ‘But we all come to work like hell for a few years and then take our money home to Poland,’ he said.
- My legs hurt like hell though - was it the dog, or the cycling?
- You kick 'em in the spine when they're not looking and run like hell.
- He runs like hell, shelters between a television news van and a car, and covers his nose and mouth with his T-shirt.
- All I know is that my mouth hurts like hell and I've about as much chance of getting in to see my dentist this week as I have getting into a size 10 dress.
- What I may end up doing is trying to get to work really early, then leaving work early and hoping like hell I get there before she leaves.
- I moved to this flat from the house opposite and we moved by standing on one side of the main road with a wardrobe, waiting for a gap in the traffic, and then running like hell.
- Either way, it hurts like hell on my right side when I breathe in.
- I grabbed a spade and frantically dug a hole in the garden, hoping like hell my flatmate wouldn't turn up during the process.
- He'd been granted a purpose and was trying like hell to set a good example.
- Two bites on my arm have come up and they itch like hell.
- It really is a magnificent bruise and I have no doubt it hurts like hell.
- One witness described Jackson as ‘fighting like hell with the steering wheel’ as he drove along at speed.
- She's alive, and she's fighting like hell to live, and she's begging for help.
- I mean, we've had moments in which we've sweated like hell, but the end result has been astonishingly good.
- I didn't really think about it much as I grew up, unless I bashed my hand against something then the tiny scar hurt like hell.
- The story wouldn't be about winners, and winning, it would be about losers fighting like hell to avoid another loss.
- I can't blame them if they do decide to leave, but I can't say I won't resent it like hell.
2informal Used in ironic expressions of scorn or disagreement. Example sentencesExamples - Yeah, like hell it is.
- Like hell he was going to let her win this easily, he thought angrily.
- "Like hell you are," I tell him.
play hell (or merry hell) 1informal Make a fuss; create havoc. Example sentencesExamples - This played hell with us in the classroom the next day as we would lose lots of sleep.
- On a beautiful, cloudless day it was utterly icy cold and there was a ‘lazy wind’ (it cuts straight through you rather than bothering to go round) that was playing hell with my attempts at backhand passes.
- When you can't eat, or get sick from antibiotics, which play hell with your stomach, when you can finally eat, Burger King seems very appealing.
- Constant honking was heard throughout the day playing hell with a peaceful residential locality.
- Labor's policy was to play merry hell with health, education and the police.
- Eventually I have always lost money, because these places sell drinks and that plays hell on my concentration.
- My informant excused himself shortly afterwards, on the grounds that his associate would play merry hell if he was late for lunch.
- We caught up with her as she was driving home from a three hour trip along a mountainous Oregon highway that played hell with the cell-phone connection.
- But I would have played hell if it hadn't been offered.
- The Sri Lankan cricketers are a worried lot, since their contracts have not been renewed yet with the officials playing merry hell according to information received by Rover.
- Whatever force was playing merry hell with her life, she had the strong feeling that it wasn't through with them yet.
- The news played hell with the parents of the children, who were on the verge on going hysterical.
- Trouble was, it never got done, until the doctor himself arrived and played merry hell because I hadn't been given anything to eat or drink for almost 2 days.
- The huge chunk of ice has played merry hell with the normal ocean currents, stopping much of the sea ice from breaking up during the Antarctic summer.
- You'll do anything to be near them, accepting pot after pot of coffee, even though it'll play hell with your plumbing.
- We found the leftmost track the easiest, but we're still talking tricky and they'll play hell with your pedalling rhythm, as the lane you're in ends with frustrating regularity and everyone else's lane looks a much better bet…
- He wanted her gone because she was playing hell with his senses.
- Also, there was one weapon the enemy surprised us with in this campaign, and they played hell with us.
- This fun series plays merry hell with biographical facts.
- 1.1Cause damage.
the rough road played hell with the tires
the road to hell is paved with good intentions proverb Promises and plans must be put into action, or else they are useless. Example sentencesExamples - So too, the national lottery, which promised a stairway to heaven, has to date served to confirm how often the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
- They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
- While I wait for progress out of this mess I'll think of that puritan saying that the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
- And, of course, the road to hell is paved with good intentions…
- But the road to hell is paved with good intentions that have already created far too much anguish and hatred.
- You know, the road to hell is paved with good intentions and all…
- It is said that the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
- But, as soon becomes clear, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
- To sum it up, the road to hell is paved with good intentions (of which the peace movement has many) but a lack of action now condemns people to life in its earthly equivalent.
- More in sorrow than in anger, Shawcross discovers anew that the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
- And so he discovers the road to hell is paved with good intentions and commonplace aspirations.
- However, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
- Unfortunately, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
- As many ambitious people find, however, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
- They say that the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
there will be hell to pay informal Serious trouble will occur as a result of a previous action. Example sentencesExamples - And if you start fighting over the blankets there will be hell to pay.
- But if they move us again, there will be hell to pay.
- If she gets out of line and doesn't heed their first warning, then they promised there will be hell to pay for strike two!
- My mom will be wondering where I am by now, she might have actually noticed I'm not there, and there will be hell to pay if I miss dinner!
- In time he'll probably succeed in taking most of the party with him, but there will be hell to pay.
- But he had better keep his promise or there will be hell to pay.
- These two reasons have one - and only one - undeniable, inevitable consequence: there are natural limits to these excesses, and when these limits are reached, there will be hell to pay!
- But don't you dare try to leave us, or there will be hell to pay.
- If you want to change things now, just because you've run into a few difficulties or to renegotiate the deal, then there will be hell to pay.
- I'm sure there will be hell to pay at some point this week.
- If the headmaster finds out there will be hell to pay.
- One day, you will be caught while coming in, and then there will be hell to pay.
- And this house better be spotless when we get back, or there will be hell to pay!
- No, we're going to have to trust him, for now - with the caveat that there will be hell to pay if they lie to us.
- It's obvious from the beginning that his secret will come out and there will be hell to pay when it does.
- But when they cross the wrong guy, there will be hell to pay.
- If work does not commence on the proposed sewerage scheme for the town within one month there will be hell to pay.
- ‘You'd better calm down,’ William said harshly, ‘Because if she wakes up, there will be hell to pay.’
- If we don't say goodbye to her, there will be hell to pay.
- And if it turns out ultimately that he had nothing to do with anything, no doubt there will be hell to pay.
Example sentencesExamples - She hoped to hell it wasn't to make Jess want to see him, because it wasn't going to work.
- She hoped to hell that Thomas would ask her if she would help him.
- I coughed and quickly adjusted my voice, hoping to hell he hadn't noticed the crack.
- Damn it all, damn it all to hell.
- Here in Aussie we just get on with partying 24 hours a day and to hell with the consequences.
- Damn it to hell, Judy.
- She just had to keep talking to him, and hope to hell that the ambulance would get here soon.
- I have never seen him like that before, and I hope to hell that I never have to again.
informal Expressing one's scorn or lack of concern for (someone or something) to hell with the consequences Example sentencesExamples - The individual as the supreme representation of Australian society and to hell with our traditional egalitarianism.
- These characters have a tendency to pass moral judgments based on their beliefs, and to hell with what anyone else thinks.
- So, long-time readers may remember something of this story, but to hell with you, I'm writing it anyway.
- To hell with quality, to hell with life, to hell with savoring the moment.
- Seek out like-minded people and to hell with what unfriendly breeders might think.
- It was about a relationship that wasn't acceptable but the punchline of the film was that they really did love each other, and to hell with everyone else.
- It's really too dark for my pale skin, but sometimes you wake up in the morning and think: to hell with that.
- Okay, my next two selections are on the basis that you have the money, so you want some thing that you like, and to hell with what the board thinks.
- We should have stuck to our guns, people tell me, and to hell with Liverpool and to hell with the Tory leadership.
- We say to hell with waiting; jump into the fray now and be part of the process of developing technologies relevant to our own cause.
- Finally, I said to hell with that, and I pulled my car across the road completely blocking traffic.
- At that point the cops either got their orders or decided to hell with it; they were streaming past us on all sides.
- I find knitting and quilting very meditative and say to hell with anyone who says derogatory things about it/me.
- Now that is a case of saying, ‘if you want what I am offering then vote for me or to hell with you.’
- It is more like a total lack of inhibition, and to hell with any consequences.
- Okay, this may be a slightly biased vantage point, but to hell with that.
- I'd like to just tell him to do whatever he wants to and to hell with how I feel, but I can't really believe that he would actually need me to give him a sign.
- Now we have plastic bin liners, which makes the bin-man's job much healthier and cleaner - but to hell with the housewife!
- But when they started attacking the Chinese, I thought, to hell with them.
- Oh, to hell with it, I'm entitled to complain if I want to.
until (or till) hell freezes over For an extremely long time or forever. Example sentencesExamples - ‘I am prepared to wait for my answer until hell freezes over,’ Stevenson says.
- One man proclaimed, ‘We'll fight them, sir, till hell freezes over, and then, sir, we will fight them on the ice.’
- It fascinates me that I could water the grass till hell freezes over and nothing and one shower of rain and the place turns green.
- Do tell him that he has already been civil and supportive, but now is the time to be silent, or he will be her pen pal - if not more - until hell freezes over.
- Before I write more, because I could write on these subjects until hell freezes over, I'll turn it over to you.
- At this time any informed Canberra observer knows that we will be waiting until hell freezes over.
- If someone is doing a good job, they can keep electing him/her until hell freezes over.
- He says he'll be honored to welcome the President but won't change his mind until hell freezes over.
- Helen Clark will be standing ready until hell freezes over to enter into negotiations with the United States.
- Clarke responded, ‘Well, they'll say that until hell freezes over.’
- That's the way it has been since 1948 and that is the way it is destined to stay till hell freezes over.
- They will be at the old game of points-scoring till hell freezes over.
Synonyms forever, permanently, for always, for good and all, perpetually, eternally, evermore, for evermore, for ever and ever, for all time, for all future time, to the end of time, until the end of time, world without end, endlessly, timelessly, for eternity, in perpetuity, everlastingly, enduringly, never to return
what the hell, business is business after all Example sentencesExamples - I had no desire to ever do something like that, but I said what the hell and took it.
- So I don't get much chance to eat, never mind see my family, but what the hell?
- I had to get out of bed to cook it but what the hell, Mrs Sticker was appreciative.
- It's more than we can really afford, but what the hell, we don't do this every day.
- At this rate, the house will already be warm by the time it happens, but what the hell.
- I am the typical poor friend and relative who leaches off others, but what the hell, I go.
- He ran the race illegally, changed the rules to suit himself, but he came first so what the hell.
- I get the feeling I may encounter some resistance to this choice, but what the hell.
- I had to go past it again the other day, so I thought, what the hell, give it a try.
- I'm sure more blogs will comment on this before long, but what the hell, I'm still going to.
- What the hell - if the stuff doesn't work, it'll make my flat look cool.
- My life is really too shallow and boring for a blog but what the hell, nobody actually had to read it.
- It was a stupid decision, but what the hell, it was made, and should have been implemented.
- At first I didn't want to, didn't really see the point but then I thought what the hell.
- That doesn't sound very wise and mature to me, but what the hell, you got to do what you got to do.
- I can't think of much to celebrate on that front but what the hell, it's a damn decent bottle of red.
- He was a little baffled as to why anyone would want to, but I say what the hell.
- As I shut the door, I looked at the still full bowl of sweets and thought, what the hell.
- You're already going to be home late, so what the hell, take it easy, give your weary eyes and brain a break.
2Used to express anger, contempt, or disbelief. What the hell, Jane? You're hanging me out to dry?
informal Suddenly there was pandemonium. Example sentencesExamples - Suddenly, all hell broke loose and a couple of compartments were set on fire.
- Suddenly, all hell broke loose; there was gunfire and explosions everywhere.
- It always starts with an investigative article in either The Washington Post or The New York Times, and all hell is let loose.
- But as soon as I say I'm only interested in Asians, suddenly all hell breaks loose!
- They give him a learning support assistant but as soon as things start to improve they withdraw it and all hell is let loose.
- A raucous screech flooded her head and suddenly all hell broke loose.
- Suddenly all hell broke loose as one of the suspects struggled free, grabbed a knife and attacked an unarmed officer.
- Suddenly all hell broke loose and everybody dived for cover.… It was only later that the man's story emerged.
- ‘All of a sudden, all hell broke loose,’ he told magistrates.
- They agreed to meet and had nominated two of four delegates when Beverley arrived to ask them if they had their delegation organised and all hell broke loose.
- All hell would have broken loose if a fraction of these acts had been performed by the other side.
- We'd simply been reading a map when all hell broke loose, and now there were more than a dozen men milling around and telling us they were going to take Andrew's bike and we must go with them to the police station.
- But that's what he got - and all hell broke loose.
- Chances are, you might be a little shaken up if you happened to be down at Vinyl Lounge on Saturday night, when all hell broke loose outside the club.
- But when I got to Los Angeles at the age of 22, all hell broke loose.
- And then all hell broke loose when he walked out.
- When the final whistle blew all hell broke loose.
- Over the next few weeks, all hell broke loose on campus.
- ‘We were there until 11 pm and then all hell broke loose,’ said the prison officer.
- And then all hell broke loose on the night of March 10 that year.
informal Escape quickly from (a place or situation) let's all get the hell out of here Example sentencesExamples - And everybody is going sell their stock and try their best to get the hell out of there.
- North takes his readers to a place most will never have dreamed of going before, or if they have they have quickly got the hell out.
- The good news is that High Command is aware of our situation and our desire to get the hell out of here.
- Then everyone packed up and got the hell out of there and went back to L.A., which made Jackson very sad.
- All she wanted to do was get this meeting over with, and then hopefully get the hell out of town as quickly as possible.
- I quickly dried my hands, put on the gloves, and got the hell out of there.
- He is, after all, only upholding one of the most venerable of British traditions: getting the hell out.
- The store was a mess afterward, the only thing I could think of was getting the hell out of there.
- If the government wants to preserve newspapers, the best thing it can do is get the hell out of the way.
- There is nothing really stopping me getting the hell out of this situation.
- I realized I had some paperwork in my hand, so I went back to the office and thought, ‘I'm putting this down and getting the hell out of here.’
- She always liked it when he visited, as it really helped her to get the hell out of her agonizing situation for a short while.
- In part this is because I got the hell out quite quickly.
- My parents didn't want to be caught between that hammer and anvil, so they got the hell out.
- ‘No,’ she said proudly, looking young while she tried on old expressions, ‘I got the hell out on my own.’
- Now, if you have any idea at all what's good for you, you will get the hell out of here and never come back.
- I turned to port, cranked smartly on the oars, and got the hell out of the ship's way.
- They got the hell out of the country, closed up shop and disappeared.
- Her first instinct was to listen to him and get the hell out of there as quickly as possible, but even as she was about to turn away she knew that escaping was pointless.
- Then the cops showed up and told everyone to get the hell out of there.
Origin Old English hel, hell, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch hel and German Hölle, from an Indo-European root meaning ‘to cover or hide’. |