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Glite Dictionary
to catch hell

to catch hell

5 8.2
To get a lot of blame or punishment for a mistake
  • phrasal verb
  • Slang
translation icon : recibir una reprimenda
  • Meanwhile, President Obama is catching hell for his performance.
  • going to catch hell
  • caught hell already
  • people catching hell

Examples

  • If mama had known where I was half the time, I would have caught hell for it.

    This Is Elvis (1981)

  • We'll catch hell from the health department if we serve you something like that.

    Glossary of Broken Dreams (2018)

  • And so I caught hell for that one on my game board.

  • And that was, Oh my God, did I catch hell for that?

  • I mean, it seems I can catch enough hell as it is, without going around looking for more.

    Tex (1982)

  • I bet you guys catch hell when you get home.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • The next day, I would catch hell for it.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • We'll catch hell for this.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • If you do this, you'll catch hell for it back home.

    Race (2016)

  • If you ignore the rules, you'll catch hell from your boss.

Synonyms

to get in trouble
vsto catch hell
203 2.7

Face blame or punishment for something you did wrong

is stronger and more intense criticism or punishment
to catch it
vsto catch hell
  • Informal
3 8.3

To be punished or scolded by someone in charge

is harsher and more severe criticism or punishment
to catch heat
vsto catch hell
  • Informal
1 8.3

To get criticism or blame from others for something you did

is stronger and more severe in emotional intensity
to get one's lumps
vsto catch hell
  • Informal
8.6

To be punished for something you did wrong

is more severe and strongly critical or punitive

How Criticized

to catch hell
  • Slang
5 8.2
to condemn
298 4.0
to catch heat
  • Informal
1 8.3
scolding
7 3.3
criticism
512 3.0
to criticize
701 3.3

Surface Forms

catch hell infinitive
catching hell present participle
catches hell third person singular
caught hell past
caught hell past participle

Morphology

catch + hell

The verb 'catch' can be understood as 'get' and 'hell' evokes intense suffering, so a learner who knows both words can partially infer the sense of 'getting severe punishment or criticism.' However, the expression is idiomatic and informal — the specific collocational and pragmatic use (e.g., receiving reprimand vs. literal suffering) is metaphorical and may not be fully predictable to a B1 learner without exposure.

Etymology

Catch hell gives a picture of someone catching a blast of hell—as if harsh words or punishment were thrown at them. Because 'hell' stands for pain or punishment, to catch hell now means 'to receive strong criticism or punishment'.