go to hell

English

Etymology

The third sense is first attested in Shakespeare. The second sense is a variation of older go to the devil. The literal sense is attested since Old English with various verbs for "to go".

Pronunciation

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Verb

go to hell (third-person singular simple present goes to hell, present participle going to hell, simple past went to hell, past participle gone to hell)

1. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see go,‎ to,‎ hell.
2. To go out the window; be ruined; be now useless.

   Well, that plan has gone to hell.

3. Expression of anger and contempt directed at someone, especially after that individual has done something very wrong.

   Why did Nancy do that to Jake? She can go to hell.

   You want me to voluntarily work the weekend without pay? Go to hell!

   • c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies  (First Folio), London: Isaac Iaggard, and Ed Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, , page 173, line 21:

     Let Fortune goe to hell for it, not I.

   • 1925 July – 1926 May, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “(please specify the chapter number)”, in The Land of Mist (eBook no. 0601351h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg Australia, published April 2019:

     "Oh, go to hell!" said Silas, and kicked open his own unlatched door.

Synonyms

• (to be ruined or useless): go out the window, go to pot, go down the drain, go down the toilet
• (go to Hell): go to Halifax
• (in imperative): get fucked

Translations

See also

• go to the devil
• go die in a fire
• go jump in a lake
• go jump off a cliff
• to hell in a handbasket

References