to high heaven

English

Prepositional phrase

to high heaven

1. (idiomatic) Immensely, forcefully.
   • 1921 December, anonymous author, “Shell-Shocked—And After”, in The Atlantic Monthly, volume 128, page 740:

     But I wished to high heaven that my head would quit aching.

   • 1929, Francis Lynde, Young Blood, page 148:

     The rear housing on the back tender truck was now blazing to high heaven.

   • 1955 October 28, Helge E. Nygren, “Statement of Helge E. Nygren […]”, in Price-Support Program: Hearings before the Committee on Agriculture and Forestry, United States Senate, Eighty-Fourth Congress, First Session […], volume 3, published 1956, page 1182:

     If someone would have the nerve to ask for, say, 10 percent of that amount to be used for the training of this same young man to make a good farmer and citizen out of him, then they would cry to high heaven about the out-of-reason waste of money.

   • 2013 [a. 1929], Evald Tang Kristensen, translated by Stephen Badman, “Broken on the Wheel”, in John Herbert, editor, Odds and Sods: Stories Taken from the Collection of Evald Tang Kristensen, →ISBN, page 36:

     He stood in the middle of the road and began to complain to high heaven at the top of his voice.

   • 2015, Nesarío García, Hoe, Heaven, and Hell: My Boyhood in Rural New Mexico, →ISBN, page 38:

     How can I ever forget one cold night in February while the wind blew to high heaven?