Whiteisms
The Archive

Etymology Journal ยท A

All hell breaks loose

Meaning

Used to describe a situation that descends into sudden, chaotic, and uncontrollable messiness. Total pandemonium follows.

Alarmed, dramatic

Used in a sentence

  • The moment the teacher left the room, all hell broke loose in the classroom.
  • If the boss finds out about the missing money, all hell will break loose.
  • We were having a nice dinner until all hell broke loose and the table flipped over.

The backstory

The phrase evokes a biblical sense of chaos as if the gates of hell have been opened and unleashed all the demons at once. It has been used for centuries to denote sudden disaster.

Heard in

Nationwide

Vibe check