hell to pay
IdiomsExample 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
But if there’s hell to pay for ignoring a judicial order, then it won’t be ignored.
From Slate ● Mar. 17, 2025
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
Harvey responded, “It’s going to be a lot of hell to pay at your house.”
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 24, 2023
If he ever pulled the pointer antics with, say, somebody like Carter, there’d be hell to pay.
From "The Chocolate War" by Robert Cormier
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.
