hell of a

Idioms

Also, one hell of a
See devil of a .
This phrase is used as an intensive to emphasize certain qualities about the noun it modifies. By itself the idiom is ambiguous, for its exact meaning depends on the context. For example, He is a hell of a driver can mean either that he is very skillful or that he is a terrible driver. Similarly, We had one hell of a time can mean either that we enjoyed ourselves greatly or that we had an awful or difficult time. [Second half of 1700s]

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.

Ali Siddiq is one hell of a storyteller.

From Los Angeles Times

"We played one year ago with very similar rosters. We won one and they won one. It is the tightest hockey you will find, probably ever. It will be a great game. It is two of the best teams probably ever, and it will be one hell of a game," US star Matthew Tkachuk added.

From Barron's

"So in a time like this, you just have to think about the last eight months when I was struggling, not playing tennis. I just want to thank my team... Today was not the day but I think we did a hell of a job."

From Barron's

He said: "Skeleton isn't the safest of sports, but it's a hell of a lot of fun when you get it right."

From BBC

Don’t miss: ‘Hell of a story, isn’t it?’

From MarketWatch

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