"shot to hell" origin?

Posted by ESC on November 29, 2004

In Reply to: "Shot to hell" origin? posted by Bruce Kahl on November 29, 2004

: : I have to write an essay on "shot to hell" and I have no idea where it came from. does anybody know?

: 1 entry found for shot to hell.

: shot to hell

: Worn out, ruined, as in This carpet is shot to hell, or My privacy's been shot to hell, what with all these reporters.

: This term alludes to being shot by gunfire. [Slang; late 1800s]

SHOT TO HELL -- "Badly damaged or fatigued; destroyed. The idea is old but the wording is not, doubtless because h**l was not an acceptable word in print until rather recently. The age of the idea is suggested by Edward Ward's 'The Wooden World Dissected' : 'He will...fix ye a Couple of new (ship's) Kennes, when the old ones are shot to the Devil.'" From The Dictionary of Cliches by James Rogers (Wings Books, Originally New York: Facts on File Publications, 1985). Page 234.

• "Shot to hell" origin? ESC 29/November/04