Hell To Pay (Noun)
Meaning
Dire consequences; "when the pig ran away there was hell to pay".
Classification
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects.
Examples
- When the company's financial reports were found to be falsified, there was hell to pay for the CEO and the entire accounting department.
- The driver who crashed into the parked police car knew there would be hell to pay when the officer stepped out of the nearby coffee shop.
- After the teenager snuck out of the house and got caught by her parents, there was hell to pay in terms of punishment.
- If the city's water supply is contaminated, the officials in charge will have hell to pay from the public and the media.
- When the employee was caught embezzling funds from the company, there was hell to pay in the form of a lengthy prison sentence.