hell to pay

Very negative or severe consequences. There will be hell to pay if you come home after curfew yet again. You borrowed Dad's car without asking? If he finds out, you'll have hell to pay! My sister hates when I go through her stuff, so we need to be quick—otherwise, I'll have hell to pay.

See also: hell, pay, to

there will be hell to pay

There will be very negative or severe consequences. There will be hell to pay if you come home after curfew yet again.

hell to pay

Great trouble, as in If we're wrong there'll be hell to pay. [c. 1800]

See also: hell, pay, to

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.

there'll be hell to pay

You can say that there'll be hell to pay to warn someone that someone will be very angry if a particular thing happens or if it does not happen. If I forget Nicole's book, there'll be hell to pay. You know what she's like. Next thing she'll find out about that night in Rugby and there'll be hell to pay. Note: In British English, you can also say that there'll be merry hell to pay. `Drop that!' she snarled at Kenny. `If the girls see it, there'll be merry hell to pay!'

See also: hell, pay, to

Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012

hell to pay

Great trouble: If we're wrong, there'll be hell to pay.

See also: hell, pay, to

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

hell to pay, there'll be

The consequences will be terrible; there’ll be a heavy penalty. Originating about 1800, this term once meant discord or severe trouble. The OED quotes a letter by Lord Paget (1807): “There has been hell to pay between the Dukes of York and Cumberland.”