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Synonyms

hell to pay

Idioms  

  1. Great trouble, as in If we're wrong there'll be hell to pay. [c. 1800]

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.

When she finds out, there is hell to pay.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 7, 2025

Bernadette Spofforth, 55, from Chester was arrested on 8 August after reposting the fake name, commenting that if it were true there would be "hell to pay".

From BBC • Sep. 18, 2024

He did not identify the Kremlin faction but said that it continued its attempts to sow discord, it would have "hell to pay".

From Reuters • Jun. 3, 2023

Otherwise there’s going to be hell to pay.

From Slate • Apr. 14, 2021

He rubbed his hand across his free and muttered to himself, “There’s going to be hell to pay now.”

From "Mississippi Trial, 1955" by Chris Crowe

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

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.