bloody hell

[apollyon]

What is the origin of the expression "bloody hell"?

[ssmart]

There are a number of theories as to the origin of bloody as an expletive, perhaps the best-known being that it is a non-blasphemous way of saying By Our Lady, that is the Virgin Mary. So that would mean that 'bloody hell' was pretty strong. The other favourite is simply that bloody means bloody and so bloody hell would mean literally that.