all hell breaks loose

English

Pronunciation

Audio (AU) (file)

Verb

all hell breaks loose

(idiomatic) The situation becomes chaotic or characterized by conflict or rage.
- 1667, John Milton, Paradise Lost:
  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

Both as a sentence and a clause this term allows all normal conjugation of the verb.

Translations

the situation becomes chaotic

Dutch: de hel breekt los
Finnish: helvetti pääsee valloilleen (literally “hell breaks loose”)
French: l'enfer se déchaîne

Italian: si scatena l'inferno (literally), succede un quarantotto
Portuguese: o céu veio abaixo
Spanish: todo se fue al demonio, se arma la gorda (Mexico)

This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.