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Groups > alt.usage.english > #1149071 > unrolled thread
| Started by | Hibou <vpaereru-unmonitored@yahoo.com.invalid> |
|---|---|
| First post | 2026-08-20 13:47 +0100 |
| Last post | 2026-08-20 15:34 +0100 |
| Articles | 3 — 2 participants |
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Oh hell! Hibou <vpaereru-unmonitored@yahoo.com.invalid> - 2026-08-20 13:47 +0100
Re: Oh hell! Bertel Lund Hansen <rundtosset@lundhansen.dk> - 2026-08-20 15:27 +0200
Re: Oh hell! Hibou <vpaereru-unmonitored@yahoo.com.invalid> - 2026-08-20 15:34 +0100
| From | Hibou <vpaereru-unmonitored@yahoo.com.invalid> |
|---|---|
| Date | 2026-08-20 13:47 +0100 |
| Subject | Oh hell! |
| Message-ID | <neobbsF75csU2@mid.individual.net> |
I've sometimes wondered about 'the hell of a' vs 'a hell of a', and have finally typed them into the Ngram Viewer. 'The hell of a' is older, but 'a hell of a' has become much commoner: <https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=%28the+hell+of+a*100%29%2Ca+hell+of+a%2C%28the+Hell+of+a*100%29%2Ca+Hell+of+a&year_start=1800&year_end=2022&corpus=en&smoothing=3> 'A hell of a' shows no great Pondian difference: <https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=a+hell+of+a%3Aeng_us%2Ca+hell+of+a%3Aeng_gb&year_start=1800&year_end=2022&corpus=en-GB&smoothing=3>
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| From | Bertel Lund Hansen <rundtosset@lundhansen.dk> |
|---|---|
| Date | 2026-08-20 15:27 +0200 |
| Message-ID | <1166vcq$3h6c9$1@dont-email.me> |
| In reply to | #1149071 |
Den 20.08.2026 kl. 14.47 skrev Hibou: > I've sometimes wondered about 'the hell of a' vs 'a hell of a', and have > finally typed them into the Ngram Viewer. 'The hell of a' is older, but > 'a hell of a' has become much commoner: > > <https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=%28the+hell+of+a*100%29%2Ca+hell+of+a%2C%28the+Hell+of+a*100%29%2Ca+Hell+of+a&year_start=1800&year_end=2022&corpus=en&smoothing=3> You're distorting the picture with your multiplying. -- Bertel, Kolt, Danmark
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| From | Hibou <vpaereru-unmonitored@yahoo.com.invalid> |
|---|---|
| Date | 2026-08-20 15:34 +0100 |
| Message-ID | <neohitF8ll7U1@mid.individual.net> |
| In reply to | #1149076 |
Le 20/08/2026 à 14:27, Bertel Lund Hansen a écrit : > Den 20.08.2026 kl. 14.47 skrev Hibou: >> >> I've sometimes wondered about 'the hell of a' vs 'a hell of a', and >> have finally typed them into the Ngram Viewer. 'The hell of a' is >> older, but 'a hell of a' has become much commoner: >> >> <https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph? >> content=%28the+hell+of+a*100%29%2Ca+hell+of+a%2C%28the+Hell+of+a*100%29%2Ca+Hell+of+a&year_start=1800&year_end=2022&corpus=en&smoothing=3> > > You're distorting the picture with your multiplying. I think the multiplication clarifies the story - but if you don't like it, take it out. When I post a link to an Ngram, it's not meant to be gospel. I fully expect people to play with it - search terms, dates, case, dialect, multipliers, and so on.
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