hell on wheels

Idioms

Tough, aggressive, wild, or mean, as in Watch out for the boss—he's hell on wheels this week. This expression originated with the building of the Union Pacific Railroad in the 1860s, when it denoted the last town on the line, which was carried on freight cars as the track was extended. The town consisted mainly of tents occupied by construction gangs, liquor dealers, gamblers, and other camp followers known for their rough and often vicious ways.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

I'm pretty sure that's Southern-speak for "they were hell on wheels."

From Salon • Mar. 20, 2022

“They’re hell on wheels and they’re fun to watch.”

From Seattle Times • Sep. 1, 2021

When David Mackay quit as chairman of Transport Edinburgh Limited he branded the project "hell on wheels".

From BBC • May 29, 2014

Ms. Jarvis’s hot-tempered Mia is a riveting, worrisome mix of 15-year-old naïveté and hell on wheels.

From New York Times • Jan. 1, 2011

I never be'n down to Yuma but they tell me it's hell on wheels.

From The Texan A Story of the Cattle Country by Hendryx, James B. (James Beardsley)

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023