112 Come hell or high water
(PW) no matter what happens
Come hell or high water, I’ll for sure be at that meeting.
(free)
come hell or high water - in spite of all obstacles; "we'll go to Tibet come hell or high water"
no matter what happens, whatever may come
(usingEnglish)
If someone says they'll do something come hell or high water, they mean that nothing will stop them, no matter what happens.
(PhraseFinder)
Meaning
Any great difficulty or obstacle.
Origin
The derivation of this phrase isn't well-understood. It doesn't appear to allude to any particular thing or event. It it most probably just an impressive-sounding alliterative phrase that refers to things that are obviously difficult to overcome. It is American and appears in many U. S. sources before the first citation elsewhere - which isn't until 1915.
The earliest American reference I can find is from the Iowa newspaper The Burlington Weekly Hawk Eye, from May 1882. This piece, in what Mel Brooks might call 'authentic frontier gibberish', is a reprint from 'The Little Rock Gazette'.
"Since dat time de best ob my friends hab become enemies, an' strangers hab become friends. De debil had brook loose in many parts ob de country, an' keepin' up wid de ole sayin', we've had unrevised hell and high water - an'a mighty heap ob high-water I tell yer."
To be rated as on old saying in 1882 we can surmise that it dates back until at least the mid-19th century.
(GoEnglish)
Come Hell Or High Water ( no matter what else happens ... )
Come hell or high water" makes clear that some future event will happen and no other event will stop it from happening. Example: "Will you be at the family reunion next year?" Answer: "Yes- we'll be there, come hell or high water!"
Even if events became totally chaotic ("hell") or there were natural disasters ("high waters") the future event would still occur.
*The word "hell" is informal and should not be used in polite situations.
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