like hell

English

Prepositional phrase

like hell

1. (intensifier) In a manner that uses all of the strength, speed, or effort that a person can summon.

   You'd better run like hell!

   • 2018 May 4, Tom English, “Steven Gerrard: A 'seriously clever or recklessly stupid' Rangers appointment”, in BBC Sport‎^[1]:

     He had an innate honesty and humility, a work ethic that elevated him above most others in England. He knew what he wanted and worked like hell to try to make it happen.

2. (negator) Used ironically to express the opposite of one's intentions

   Me do the washing up? Like hell I will!

3. Bad or badly.

   You look like hell!

   It stank like hell down there!

Synonyms

• (ironic negator): my ass, my arse, my butt, my eye, my foot, my thigh; see Thesaurus:bullshit

Translations

using all strength, speed, effort that one can summon

• Finnish: helvetisti (fi)
• French: le diable aux trousses (fr), le diable aux cul, le diable aux chausses, à mort (fr)
• Italian: a palla, a pieno regime
• Polish: jak diabli (pl), jak cholera (pl)
• Swedish: som fan (sv), så in i helvete

expressing the opposite of one's intentions

• Czech: tos uhod, to určitě
• French: mon cul (fr), c’est mort (fr)
• Italian: col cazzo
• Russian: чёрта с два (čórta s dva)
• Spanish: a huevo (es) que (no)
• Swedish: i helvete heller

bad or badly

Swedish: som fan (sv)

See also

• as hell
• like a bat out of hell
• like buggery
• like heck
• the hell
• the hell you say