the hell you say
- idiom
- Informal
:
¿qué dices?
- When he admitted he had never seen snow before, I replied, "The hell you say!"
Examples
-
Wait, the hell you say? Are you serious?
-
The hell you say! I can't believe she actually quit her job.
-
"They finished the marathon in under three hours." – The hell you say!
-
What? The hell you say!
-
The hell you say! I can't believe she actually quit her job.
-
"They finished the marathon in under three hours." – The hell you say!
-
When he admitted he had never seen snow before, I replied, "The hell you say!"
Synonyms
659
9.2
Shows strong anger, annoyance, or surprise in rude informal speech
476
9.9
To ask someone to repeat what they said because you do not believe it
422
7.5
A small amount of care or worry about something
347
8.9
An angry or surprised question showing you do not believe something
90
8.9
A short cry to show surprise, confusion, disbelief, or casual acceptance
68
9.8
A short phrase showing surprise and not believing what someone said
26
9.8
Said to show that you do not believe or accept something
26
9.9
A strong phrase people say when they are very surprised or shocked
24
9.9
A word people say to show mild surprise
17
9.4
A short informal cry showing surprise or strong feeling
14
8.8
A short cry people use to show surprise or amazement
14
9.9
A strong rude shout people use when they feel very angry or shocked
13
7.4
Shows surprise or mild doubt about what someone just said
9
9.9
Adds strong anger or surprise to what you say
8
7.6
A short phrase people say to show surprise or disbelief
8
2.6
Words people say when they are surprised to see something
5
9.9
A phrase people say to show strong surprise or that they do not believe what someone just said
5
7.5
A short phrase people say to show surprise or shock
4
9.9
A short informal word people say when they feel surprise, shock, or annoyance
4
9.5
A phrase said to show surprise, confusion, or annoyance
4
9.5
A short word people say when they are surprised or shocked
3
8.4
A short sound people make when they suddenly understand something
3
9.6
To say when you are very surprised or shocked
3
7.7
Said when you doubt what someone says, often ironically
2
9.9
An informal word people say to show surprise, annoyance, or that they do not believe something
2
7.0
To show surprise, shock or disbelief in a mild, polite way
1
9.9
A short sound to show disbelief or dislike
A way to say you are surprised or do not believe something
To say or write a short exclamation to show surprise
A short informal way people use to show surprise, confusion, or disbelief
A short phrase people say to show surprise or confusion
A short angry or surprised shout used instead of a rude word
A short phrase people use to show surprise or disbelief without a bad word
An informal phrase people say to show surprise or disbelief
A short shout that shows surprise or shock
A short shout to show surprise or amazement
A word people say to show strong surprise
A short phrase people say when they feel surprised or do not believe something
A short shout showing surprise, alarm, or disbelief
A loud informal shout that shows surprise, shock, or strong annoyance
An old-fashioned word people say to show disbelief or annoyance
Antonyms
How Surprised
- Informal
∞
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase uses 'hell' as an expletive/intensifier and the string 'the hell you say' does not compose into the literal sense of its parts; the meaning 'expressing disbelief/astonishment' is pragmatic and idiomatic rather than a straightforward combination of 'hell' + 'you' + 'say'. A B1 learner who knows the individual words would be unlikely to infer this discourse‑level exclamation without prior exposure, so it is opaque.
Etymology
The hell you say may come from older sayings like 'you don't say' and uses the strong word the hell to show shock while you say points at the person who spoke. So people say it when they feel disbelief or surprise at what someone has just said.