jemandem die Hölle heiß machen
to pressure or harangue someone hard; to give them hell
Origin
The image draws on the religious notion of hell as a place of fire, heat and torment. The expression appears as early as Luther (still with a theological reference); the present general meaning of 'to pressure someone' is first attested in Goethe.
Building blocks
Words in this expression
Grammar that uses this word
- Pronoun 'es' (it, nominative)Pronomen 'es' (Nominativ)
- Verb 'sein' (to be), present: er/sie/es ist (he/she/it is)Verb 'sein' im Präsens: er/sie/es ist
- Definite article 'der' (the, masculine, nominative)Bestimmter Artikel 'der' (maskulin, Nominativ)
- Definite article 'die' (the, feminine, nominative)Bestimmter Artikel 'die' (feminin, Nominativ)
Examples
Die Kunden dem des Rückrufs die .
Customers are giving the manufacturer hell over the recall.