Meanings
- mildlyvulgarAn expression of frustration, outrage, or surprise.First known use mid 19th c.
Hell's bells, they even shot the dog.
2007, Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men (motion picture), spoken by Wendell (Garret Dillahunt)2 more examples
What's the matter with his talking so polite? Hell's bells, Harry, no harm in being polite. There's some regular he-men that are just as polite as women, prett' near.
1920, Sinclair Lewis, chapter XXIX, in Main Street: The Story of Carol Kennicott, New York, N.Y.: Harcourt, Brace and Howe, →OCLC, section V, page 352"You've never had a woman in any of your other pictures. Why do you want one for this?" / "Hell's Bells! You don't think I'm consulting my own preference, I hope."
1932, Edgar Wallace, Merian C[aldwell] Cooper, novelization by Delos W[heeler] Lovelace, chapter 1, in King Kong, trade softcover edition, Nevada City, Calif.: Underwood Books, published 2005, →ISBN, page 6Synonyms: 4uck, ay, chihuahua, blast, bugger, bummer, byrlady, consarn it
- pluralplural onlyJimsonweed (Datura stramonium).
Synonyms & antonyms
interjectionAn expression of frustration, outrage, or surprise.
Origin
From hell + -’s + bells, possibly an elaboration of hell (used to express anger, discontent, or unhappiness) with bells chosen to rhyme with hell’s. The noun sense (Datura stramonium) may allude to the often spiny seed capsules of the poisonous plant which somewhat resemble bells when they mature and split open; compare devil's cucumber, devil's snare, devil's trumpet, and devil's weed which are other common names for the plant.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Catalan porca misèria, puta misèria
- porca misèriaexpression of frustration, outrage, or surprise
- puta misèriaexpression of frustration, outrage, or surprise
- quina misèriaexpression of frustration, outrage, or surprise
Italian porca miseria, porca puttana
- porca miseriaexpression of frustration, outrage, or surprise
- porca puttanaexpression of frustration, outrage, or surprise
- porca troiaexpression of frustration, outrage, or surprise
Scottish Gaelic pit air iteig
- pit air iteigexpression of frustration, outrage, or surprise
Cite this entry
hell's bells. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hell's%20bells
“hell's bells.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hell's%20bells. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hell's bells,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hell's%20bells.
Source: hell's bells on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.