all hell breaks loose
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English[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Audio (AU) (file)
Phrase[edit]
all hell breaks loose (simple past all hell broke loose)
- (idiomatic) The situation becomes chaotic or characterized by conflict or rage.
- 1667, John Milton, “(please specify the book number)”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
- Came not all hell broke loose?
- 1992 August 19, “Beckel, Barnes and Rollins Discuss the Republican Convention”, in CBS Morning:
- I think it's kind of fun because, had Hillary Clinton spoken at the Democratic Convention, all hell would have broken loose.
Usage notes[edit]
- Both as a sentence and a clause this term allows all normal conjugated forms of the verb.
Translations[edit]
the situation becomes chaotic
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