hell of a

idiom

informal + somewhat impolite
1
used to make a statement more forceful
It was one hell of a good fight.
He is one hell of a nice guy.
2
: very good
She's a hell of a player.
3
: very bad or difficult
We've been having a hell of a time trying to finish on schedule.
This is a hell of a mess we're in.

Examples of hell of a in a Sentence

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Toward the end of the 20th century, late architect John Petrarca and his wife—formerly neighbors of the property, having resided at 158 Reade Street—bought it in 1999 and proceeded to carry out one of hell of a renovation. Demetrius Simms, Robb Report, 7 Apr. 2025 That’s a hell of a premise, but this show has much more on its mind than just monsters-of-the-week, diving deep into Hub’s relationship with his ex-wife and son and his love-hate relationship with the country music industry. William Earl, Variety, 3 Apr. 2025 Keeping behind them with support is a hell of a lot better than hate city. Michael Russo, New York Times, 26 Mar. 2025 Meanwhile, the ship Alex is on is having a hell of a time making it through a storm. Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 2 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for hell of a

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Cite this Entry

“Hell of a.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hell%20of%20a. Accessed 24 Apr. 2025.

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