the hell

alternative in the hell

1. not comparablesometimesvulgarUsed to indicate emphatic rejection of an assertion or request.

   A: I can run faster than a horse. B: The hell you can!

   1 more example

   'You stay here, sir,' O'Bannion instructed. 'The hell I will,' Feeney said.

   1990, Stephen King, The Moving Finger

   Synonyms: like hell, the hell you say, hell

2. not comparablesometimesvulgarExpletive used for emphasis, typically after an interrogative term or relative pronoun.

   What the hell was that?

   3 more examples

   I thought we were all sisters and brothers I guess I am not accepted. I sure wish the hell I stayed in the closet.

   1971, Allan Oxside, “Oxside In A Closet”, in Body Politic, number 1, page 3

   D'Allesandro was particularly adept at that kind of flash-forward-then-backward-all-the-hell-over-the-place kind of narrative and like a tourist following a well-seasoned guide, you never lose track of the line.

   1989 December 17, Christopher Wittke, “On The Edge In The '80s”, in Gay Community News, volume 17, number 23, page 11

   “Whoever the hell is running the place now has made a terrible mess of it,” he said... “Not in the sense that it looks different, or that it isn't pretty much permanently full. It's just that the food as gone utterly down the khazi.”

   2009 February 19, Gareth Lewis, Southern Daily Echo

alternative in the hell

1. abbreviationellipsismildlyvulgarEllipsis of what the hell, an exclamation indicating surprise or dismay.

   “She said she had a date later!” “The hell!” exclaimed Crane.

   2013, Jonathan Latimer, The Lady in the Morgue, →ISBN

alternative in the hell

1. abbreviationellipsisinterrogativemildlyslangvulgarEllipsis of what the hell (“what”).

   The hell is that?

   3 more examples

   The hell am I supposed to do with half a kid?

   2023, James P. Sandoval, “Solomon's Solution”, in But a Jape (webcomic)

   Wilson: He's right. They endorse Royce, fine, the hell else they gonna do?

   2006 October 1, Dennis Lehane, “Refugees” (00:32:06), in The Wire, season 4, episode 4

   I’ll tell you a story. The hell's his name? Might be Herbert… Hitler came on me full force. And that was explosive.

   2024 May 16, very tall bart, [YTP] State of the Union, spoken by Jordan Peterson (Jordan Peterson)