Street voices
Hugues
·
United States
"As hell alternatively as fuck or as shit Added right after an adjective to emphasize the adjective. Oh Man you should have been at the show dude the guitarist on stage. He was cool as hell man"
What it means
Used after an adjective to crank it up hard, like saying very but with way more bite and swagger. You will hear it all over casual American English, especially when someone wants to sound emphatic without getting fancy. It can lean positive, negative, funny, or annoyed depending on the vibe. Basically, it turns plain description into something louder.
Usage examples
"You should've seen that guitarist at the show, man. The crowd lost it the second he walked on stage. He was cool as hell."
"The hike was steep as hell, but the view from the top was worth every single aching step we took to get there."
Where it comes from
An old intensifier leaning on hell as the extreme limit, hotter and harder than anything else. Tacked onto an adjective, it cranks the dial far past plain very.
Editors of this term
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