All hell broke loose

Origin of: All hell broke loose

All hell broke loose

Sometimes expressed as all hell let loose it describes a situation where, figuratively, all the demons of hell are about to be released, in other words, an uncontrollable and unholy mess. Milton is credited with its origin in Paradise Lost (1667) Book IV, lines 917/8, “Wherefore with thee, came not all hell broke loose?” See also Balloon has gone up and Shit hits the fan.