So many ways to go to hell

Q. No hell below us

A. That's a question that has puzzled the greatest minds, so we here at the answerbank will not be attempting to give you the definitive answer. However, we can tell you a little about it and how we all use 'hell' to get us through the day.

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Q. In brief, what's it all about

A. Almost all religions and cultures have a concept of a place where the wicked go after death in order to be punished for the bad things they did while they were alive. The Christian idea of the Inferno derives from the Jewish Gehenna, a place of unquenchable fire.

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Islam, too, having many of the same roots as Judaism and Christianity in the prophetic religions of the Middle East and Persia, describes Jahannam as a huge crater of fire beneath a narrow bridge that all souls must pass over to get to paradise; those that cannot pass over the bridge fall into the fire.

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However, some traditions, particularly those originating in colder climates, depict a dark region of unremitting cold. The great eastern religions, too, such as Hinduism and Buddhism in its many and varied forms, all have concepts of places of punishment. However, as they also incorporate reincarnation in their teaching, hell, unlike the monotheistic religions (Christianity, Judaism and Islam), is only a temporary state where the soul resides until it has another chance at getting life right.

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Q. Where does the word hell come from

A. The English word comes from the Anglo-Saxon helan, meaning to cover or conceal. The idea is that hell is the unseen world, hidden from the living.

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In Norse mythology - which shared a great deal in common with that of their Germanic cousins the pagan English - Hel, as well as being the dark realm, also came to refer to the guardian of the underworld. She lived in the northern land of Niflheim (meaning World of Darkness) at Elvidnir (dark clouds), ate from a dish called Hungr (go on, guess), using a knife named Sullt (starvation). Half her body was blue - not surprising really, given the prevailing weather conditions - and she slept on a bed named K�r (sickness) surrounded by curtains called Blikiandabol (splendid misery).

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Q. Go to hell!

A. Charming. In a handbasket Other expletives include:

Hell's bells and hell's teeth - the former alliterates nicely, but why teeth

What the hell - two meanings: the first for emphasis ('What the hell is this ' along the same lines as 'Where in hell's name ' 'Who the hell , etc.); the second is used as an expression of resignation or 'why not '

Like hell (I will) - no chance

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So we can say that something is 'hell on wheels/legs/a bike' or anything else that gives us motion. And we can:

Be hell-bent - determined, presumably because you'll get what you want or you'll go to hell trying

Be a hell-cat - a bad tempered woman

Go hell for leather - go like a bat out of hell, as fast as possible, deriving probably from riding a horse at a gallop, the leather being the saddle - although some have suggested that it could be a corruption of 'all in a lather'

Be a hell-raiser - actors of a certain type like to be thought of as such; it usually means that they're developmental retards who drink too much

Raise hell - have a helluva good time

Do something for the hell of it - just 'coz it's there

Give someone hell - seriously lambaste a wrongdoer

Play merry hell - to disrupt

Have a hell-hound on your trail - the original hell-hound was Cerberus, but it can mean to be dogged by doubts or fiends (emotional or metaphysical)

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Anyway, there'll be hell to pay, if come hell or high water, you persist in trying to call up the Vicar of Hell at a seance.

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And never forget that the way to hell is paved with good intentions.

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Q. So, what is 'to hell'

A. A hangover from the Anglo Saxon, in some parts of England to cover in a building with a roof is 'to hell' it, and thatchers and roofers are called 'helliers'. Not a lot of people know that.

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For more on Phrases & Sayings click here

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By Simon Smith