hell of a

idiom

informal + somewhat impolite

1

—used to make a statement more forceful

It was one hell of a good fight.

He is one hell of a nice guy.

2

: very good

She's a hell of a player.

3

: very bad or difficult

We've been having a hell of a time trying to finish on schedule.

This is a hell of a mess we're in.

Examples of hell of a in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Toward the end of the 20th century, late architect John Petrarca and his wife—formerly neighbors of the property, having resided at 158 Reade Street—bought it in 1999 and proceeded to carry out one of hell of a renovation. —Demetrius Simms, Robb Report, 7 Apr. 2025

That’s a hell of a premise, but this show has much more on its mind than just monsters-of-the-week, diving deep into Hub’s relationship with his ex-wife and son and his love-hate relationship with the country music industry. —William Earl, Variety, 3 Apr. 2025

Keeping behind them with support is a hell of a lot better than hate city. —Michael Russo, New York Times, 26 Mar. 2025

Meanwhile, the ship Alex is on is having a hell of a time making it through a storm. —Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 2 Mar. 2025

Rhymes for hell of a

• brava