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1. Originated in Oakland in the mid-70s.
2. Original pronunciation of "hella".
3. Was funny because it confused people.
4. First used in a movie: E.T. (1982). Boy looks in fridge and mumbles to himself, "nothin' but hella shit in here."
5. Kids began to say "heck of" to keep from getting in trouble w/ parents.
6. Phrase was never "hell of a."
"It's hell of bad"
"That's hell of jive"
Hell of by DontCallItYayArea August 7, 2006
Urban Dictionary Merch
The phrase that the word hella is the contraction of. Hell of means the same thing as hella, but it conveys more emphasis. It is always the most stressed word in the sentence.
It's hell of fucked up that his mom died.
hell of by blair April 12, 2004
a new variation of the norcal "hella".. usually employed by those more in tune with modern street lingo. common to san luis obispo, livermore, and chico.
"that was a hell of sick set that tiesto spun at spundae"

"i hell of houdini'd chris' mom after she refused to make me potstickers."
hell of by langan April 29, 2003

hell of a life

Hell of a Life: You have a zealous, adventurous life; shitty at some parts and amazing at others. You wouldn't trade it for anything else cuz you know you couldn't function without it.
Boy: Did you hear about Madonna? New album and so much controversy..
Girl: yeah, she got a hell of a life. Totally jealous of her.
Boy: lol smh
hell of a life by Kittycocoa January 2, 2015

hell of a heck 

What you feel like after you've been greatly disappointed.
So we went to the restaurant after the glowing review in the newspaper and found the beef stringy, the corn soggy, there was a piece of pumpkin pie on the floor under the table, there was a crying baby across the way, somebody was smoking a cigarette in the corner, the waitress dumped a plate of chocolate pie of my head. On the way home, Dad commented, "Well that was a hell of a heck."
hell of a heck by Mercana December 1, 2013

hell of a thirst on 

In need of alcoholic refreshment (UK)
I've got a hell of a thirst on, lets get to the pub!

hell of a lot

1/10 OF A FUCK TON
I HAVE A HELL OF A LOT OF WORK TO DO,
hell of a lot by Sapper42 January 31, 2018
More from Urban Dictionary

Concrete cowboy 

A guy who thinks he's a country kinda guy, but in reality lives a comfortable city / suburban life.
Eugene: Look at that dude in the cowboy hat!
Todd: He's just a concrete cowboy.
Word of the Day on September 20, 2026
any hard liquor that is cheap & potent.. eg. relska, popov, potters, evan williams, kamchatka, fireball, rumpleminze, southern comfort, everclear
hey let's get a drink of that?

go ahead
*takes drink* ugh wtf is that?

everclear & bepsi
fucking hobo loko eeessshh
hobo loko by d i z k o 2 0 8 September 14, 2026
Word of the Day on September 19, 2026

God Shot 

A chance happening with profound meaning, an unexpected blessing, a "sign".
Dr. Drew on Celebrity Rehab said "All of a sudden what had been just another Hollywood proposal became for him an unexpected blessing, an opportunity for growth. In drug recovery language, that's called a "God shot."
God Shot by Imogen1564 February 25, 2011
Word of the Day on September 18, 2026

city chicken 

A food native to Pittsburgh/Western Pennsylvania in which cubes of pork and/or veal are put on a short, wooden skewer, breaded, then baked and/or fried.

I've heard that city chicken originated during the Great Depression, when folks didn't have enough money to buy full cuts of meat, so they assembled meat scraps on a wooden skewer, creating a make-shift drumstick. Hence the name.
Are yinz havin' city chicken for dinner?
city chicken by TRF August 31, 2006
Word of the Day on September 17, 2026
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