hell on earth

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

hell on earth (uncountable)

1. (idiomatic) A very unpleasant situation; torment, particularly when widespread.

• Pope Francis: Laudato si': if the limitations of the environment are compensated for in the interior of each person who feels held within a network of solidarity and belonging, ... any place can turn from being a hell on earth into the setting for a dignified life. (Paragraph 148).

• hell on wheels
• heaven on earth