what the hell
English
Etymology
Shortened from earlier what in the hell.
Pronunciation
Audio (AU) (file)
Phrase
- (mildly vulgar, slang) An intensive form of what.
- What the hell is going on?
- (mildly vulgar, slang) Why not? or Who cares?
- It’s expensive, but what the hell, you only live once.
- Surprisingly, dieters ate more ice cream after eating a large milkshake than after eating a small one. Dr. Polivy calls this the “What the hell” effect, which she describes as thinking “What the hell, my diet’s already broken, so I might as well eat everything in sight.”
Usage notes
- Thought to be more vulgar in the US whilst less vulgar in the UK, Canada and Australia.
Synonyms
Derived terms
Related terms
- See the hell
Translations
an intensive form of what
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why not?
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See also
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