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all hell breaks loose

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all hell breaks loose

slang Said of a chaotic or disruptive situation, especially one that begins suddenly or unexpectedly. I'm just walking down the street when all hell breaks loose, and drivers start beeping and screaming at each other for no apparent reason. One guy pushed another at the bar and then all hell broke loose—that's why we left!

See also: all, break, hell, loose

all hell breaks loose

  (informal)

if all hell breaks loose, a situation suddenly becomes noisy and violent, usually with a lot of people arguing or fighting This big guy walked up to the bar and hit Freddie and suddenly all hell broke loose.

See also: all, break, hell, loose