hell of a (person or thing)

1. Quite good or impressive. That was one hell of a party you threw for Kelly. Everyone said they had such a great time. He's a hell of a ballplayer. I wouldn't be surprised if he made it to the pros someday. I know she's only a freshman, but she's a hell of a writer and will be an asset to the newspaper.

2. Very difficult. I had a hell of a time trying to change the flat tire. The lug nuts didn't want to budge. A: "I want Grandpa to go to the doctor for that cough of his." B: "Yeah, that's a hell of a task—the man hasn't been to the doctor in a decade!" I'm having a hell of a time getting this window open—I think it has been painted shut.

3. Bad or negative. Did she really hang up on me? That's a hell of a response to an innocent question! That's a hell of a way to treat someone! If you lie to your "friends" like that, then what do you do to your enemies? A: "That movie got a hell of a review—is it really as bad as they say?" B: "Oh yeah, it's awful."

See also: hell, of

a hell of a someone or something

and a helluva someone or something

1. Inf. a very bad person or thing. (Use caution with hell.) That's a hell of a way to treat someone. He's a hell of a driver! Watch out! 2. Inf. a very good person or thing. (Use caution with hell.) He is one hell of a guy. We really like him. We had a helluva good time.

See also: hell, of

hell of a

Also, one hell of a

1. See devil of a.

2. 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]

See also: hell, of

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

a (or one) hell of a —

used to emphasize something very bad or great. informal

1990 Stephen King The Stand If someone on the committee has been leaking, we're in a hell of a jam.

See also: hell, of

a/one hell of a...

(spoken, slang) somebody/something that is very bad, good, unusual, impressive, etc: We had a hell of a good time at the night club. ♢ I had one hell of a hangover the next morning.

This is sometimes written as ‘a/one helluva’.