devil to pay, and no pitch hot

English

Noun

the devil to pay, and no pitch hot

1. Synonym of hell to pay
   • 1821, Walter Scott, The Pirate:

     You will carry my letter to the magistrates, and second it with your own eloquence, and assure them, that if they hurt but one hair of Cleveland's head, there will be the devil to pay, and no pitch hot.

Related terms

• devil seam (“the seam between garboard strake and the keel”) (a seam on wooden boats)
  • the devil to pay and no pitch hot or ready
    • devil to pay
  • between the devil and the deep blue sea