Idiom: "All hell breaks loose" (informal)

informal —used to describe what happens when violent, destructive, and confused activity suddenly begins, Said of a chaotic or disruptive situation,If all hell breaks loose, a situation suddenly becomes violent and noisy, especially with people arguing or fighting: all hell breaks loose or all hell breaks out INFORMAL COMMON If all hell breaks loose or all hell breaks out, a situation becomes uncontrolled and noisy, often with a lot of arguing or fighting. e.g I heard people shouting at each other, and suddenly all hell broke loose. I'm just walking down the street when all hell breaks loose, and drivers start beeping and screaming at each other for no apparent reason. One guy pushed another at the bar and then all hell broke loose—that's why we left! One policeman drew his gun and then suddenly all hell broke loose. Suddenly, all hell broke loose upstairs. It sounded as if someone was battering at the door with a tree trunk. Toby came home and all hell broke loose. I had no idea that a baby could scream so much. Note: This expression first appeared in John Milton's `Paradise Lost' (1667), book 4, line 917, when the Archangel Gabriel addresses Satan: `Wherefore with thee Came not all hell broke loose?' (ie why did all hell not break loose and come with you?). Here, `broke' means `broken', but the meaning of this expression has since changed. Thesaurus aggression aggressive aggro all hell breaks loose idiom atrocious atrocity bellicose belligerent blood blood and guts idiom blood lust bloodbath bloodily bloodletting bloodshed bloodthirsty bloody bovver brutal brutality brutish cold combative confrontation desperate fell ferocious fierce fiercely fighting words flex flex your muscles idiom forced forcible frenzied gay-basher gory hawkish hell homicidal hostile in cold blood idiom kick kick off lout marauding mean militarist murderous offensive outrage physical pugnacious raging Rambo rampage road rage rough roughhouse roughly run running with blood idiom sabre-rattling savage savagely savagery stand up steep steeped in blood idiom strong-arm talk talk tough idiom thug tough trigger-happy trouble ugly vicious violence violent violently warlike warmonger wild, Explore related meanings To argue Physical fights Ending, solving and avoiding arguments and fights To oppose something or someone Opposed to someone or something Opposition Expressions showing anger and used in arguments Words used to describe people who are quick to argue Synonyms argument noun an angry disagreement between people disagreement noun a situation involving a lot of disagreements conflict noun angry disagreement between people or groups dispute noun a serious disagreement, especially one between groups of people that lasts for a long time controversy noun a disagreement, especially about a public policy or a moral issue that a lot of people have strong feelings about quarrel noun an argument, especially one about something unimportant between people who know each other well row noun a noisy argument misunderstanding noun an argument that is not very serious fight noun a situation in which people disagree or argue with each other a war of words a situation in which two people or groups continuously criticize each other in public because they disagree seriously about something Show me less More synonyms a battle of wills a situation in which two people disagree, and each refuses to change their ideas or what they want a blazing row a very angry argument a clash of personalities/a personality clash a situation in which two people disagree because they have very different personalities affray noun a noisy argument or fight in a public place a fight to the death a fight or disagreement that ends when someone is killed or something is destroyed all hell breaks loose used for saying that something happens that makes people angry or upset, and they start fighting or arguing altercation noun formal a noisy argument a matter for/of debate something that people have different opinions about and argue about argy-bargy noun britishinformal noisy arguments ballyhoo noun informal a lot of excitement or arguing about something, especially something that does not deserve the attention it is getting barney noun britishspoken a loud argument battlefield noun a situation in which people disagree and cause problems for each other blow-up noun informal a sudden angry argument blue noun australian an argument breach noun formal a serious disagreement brush noun a short argument or minor disagreement with someone bust-up noun britishinformal a serious argument or fight circularity noun a situation in which a series of causes and effects leads you back to the original cause, producing an argument that does not mean anything clash noun mainly journalism a very angry argument between two people or groups collision noun a very serious argument conflict noun a situation in which it is difficult for two things to exist together or be true at the same time confrontation noun a situation in which people or groups are arguing angrily or are fighting contention noun formal disagreement between people or groups contretemps noun often humorous an argument that is not very serious crossfire noun angry words or actions between two people that may accidentally affect other people who are not directly involved differences noun disagreements about something ding-dong noun britishvery informal a loud argument, accident, or fight discord noun formal disagreement between people disharmony noun formal a situation in which people are angry and arguing with each other disputation noun very formal a discussion in which people disagree strongly disunity noun a situation in which people are not in agreement or are not working together to achieve an aim division noun a disagreement between people, especially between people who belong to the same group dogfight noun a situation in which people argue or compete, especially in an unpleasant way domestic noun britishinformal an argument or violence between people who live together. This word is used especially by the police as an informal word for domestic violence. duel noun an argument between two people encounter noun an occasion when people meet and fight or argue exchange noun formal an angry conversation face-off noun informal a disagreement or fight between two people or groups faction noun formal disagreement or fighting between small groups within a larger group falling-out noun informal an occasion when you have a disagreement with someone feud noun an angry disagreement between two people or groups that continues for a long time flack another spelling of flak flak noun informal criticism and argument flare-up noun an occasion when people suddenly start behaving in an angry or violent way fracas noun a noisy fight or argument the fray noun a fight or argument free-for-all noun informal a noisy fight or argument involving a lot of people friction noun disagreement the fur starts to fly used for saying that people are very angry and arguing with each other hair-splitting noun the activity of arguing about unimportant details or differences hoo-ha noun informal noisy excitement, arguments, or complaints ifs and buts attempts to argue against doing something or to suggest difficulties infighting noun disagreements over who has power or control among the members of a group or organization knockabout noun a very lively argument, for example between politicians pitched battle noun an angry argument or fight, especially one that continues for a long time quarrel noun a reason for not being friendly or for not agreeing with someone rift noun a disagreement between two people or groups row noun a serious disagreement about an issue between people, organizations, or countries ruckus noun mainly americaninformal a fight, or a noisy argument ructions noun informal noisy protests, or a noisy argument rumpus noun informal a noisy argument or protest run-in noun informal an argument running battle noun an argument that continues over a long period of time scene noun a noisy argument or a strong show of feelings in a public place schism noun formal an occasion when one group divides into two groups because of a disagreement scrap noun informal a small fight or argument set-to noun informal a quick argument or fight shouting match noun a noisy argument showdown noun a big meeting, argument, or fight that finally settles a disagreement between people or proves who is the best skirmish noun an argument or a disagreement, especially a political one skirmishing noun arguments, especially political or legal ones slanging match noun british an argument in which people insult each other smackdown noun an angry disagreement or fight spat noun a short argument split noun a division of a large group into smaller groups because of a disagreement split noun a disagreement that causes a group to divide into smaller groups stand-off noun a disagreement or fight in which neither opponent can do anything to win or achieve their aim strife noun formal fighting or disagreement between people or groups tangle noun informal a fight, or an argument tension noun the feeling caused by a lack of trust between people, groups, or countries who do not agree about something and may attack each other tiff noun informal a minor argument, especially between people in a sexual or romantic relationship toing and froing noun a lot of argument or discussion about a particular thing turf war noun arguments between people or groups who each want to control a particular area tussle noun mainly journalism a disagreement between two people who are both trying to get or to achieve something unpleasantness noun a situation in which people get angry, violent, or upset vendetta noun a situation in which someone has angry and negative feelings towards someone else and keeps trying to harm them or to cause problems for them war noun often humorous a situation in which two people or groups of people fight, argue, or are extremely unpleasant to each other warfare noun fighting or serious disagreement between groups war of words noun an occasion when people or organizations criticize each other or argue in public wrangle noun an argument that lasts for a long time, especially an angry and unpleasant one Poetic origin John Milton’s “Paradise Lost,”(1667) in which the warlike angel Gabriel, encountering Satan in Paradise, inquires, “Wherefore with thee/Came not all hell broke loose?” Indeed, the conciseness of poetic language – or the ability to condense the emotional or dramatic into a more succinct form of expression– helps to explain the often effortless crossover of verse into common speech.