Meaning of Idiom ‘All Hell Breaks Lose’
When all hell breaks lose, there is sudden chaos, confusion, uproar, arguing, fighting, violence, etc; things get out of control.
Examples Of Use
“When the police fired tear gas into the crowd of protesters, all hell broke loose.”
“I don’t know what happened. We were just sitting there having dinner and some people started arguing. Next thing you know all hell breaks loose.”
“Someone heard a gunshot at school today and all hell broke loose. Turns out someone had put a firecracker in a locker.”
“When security tried to keep the crowd from climbing on the stage by pushing them back, all hell broke loose at the concert.”
Origin
This phrase first appeared in Milton’s Paradise Lost, in 1667, when the Archangel Gabriel speaks to Satan:
Wherefore with thee Came not all hell broke loose?
Gabriel was literally asking why all the occupants of hell hadn’t ‘broken loose’ (become freed) and therefore come with Satan. The meaning of the expression has since become metaphorical, describing the kind of chaos and confusion one might expect if such a thing actually occurred.
