frighten the hell out of

frighten the hell out of (one)

To shock or frighten one very suddenly and/or severely. Don't sneak up on me like that, you frightened the hell out of me! That car accident seems to have frightened the hell out of Janet—she's still shaken by it. Waking up to the sound of the howler monkeys nearly frightened the hell out of us. We had no idea what we were hearing.

See also: frighten, hell, of, out

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

frighten the hell out of someone

 and frighten the pants off someone; frighten the living daylights out of someone; scare the living daylights out of someone; scare the shit out of someone; scare the wits out of someone

to frighten someone badly, suddenly or both. (Use of hell and shit are crude.) These figures frighten the hell out of me. The door blew shut and scared the shit out of me. It takes a lot to scare the pants off a hardened criminal.

See also: frighten, hell, of, out

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.