hell week

plural hell weeks · alternative Hell Week

1. USidiomaticThe week during which new members are required to undergo undignified rites of initiation or gruelling discipline in order to be accepted into a fraternity, sorority, secret society, military group, etc.

   She was among a number of cadets taken to the infirmary with heat sickness on the first day of the rigorous drills called hell week.

   1995 September 10, “Citadel's First Female Cadet Tells of the Stress of Her Court Fight”, in New York Times, retrieved 14 Jun 2011

2. USIn a college or university, the week leading up to final examinations.

   I finished my exam and handed it to the grad assistant at the front row. […] I had finished Hell Week! Winter break has officially begun.

   2002, Paul Laska, Four Years, page 147

   1 more example

   As a college freshman, this was vividly impressed on me during my first exposure to hell week. Hell week is the term many students use in reference to what professors and other college officials call final exam week.

   1991, James K. Semones, Effective Study Skills: A Step-by-step System for Achieving Student Success, page xvii

plural Hell Weeks

1. alternativeAlternative form of hell week.