The two expressions, THE HELL and THE HECK are used in a similar way, the latter being a more polite form of the former. They’re used to make a statement or question more forceful:
Let’s get the hell out of here.
Let’s get the heck out of here.
What the hell was that?
What the heck was that?
How the hell did she do it?
How the heck did she do it?
The expressions WHAT THE HELL and WHAT THE HECK are used to express anger or surprise in a rather impolite way:
What the hell! I told you not to do it!
What the heck! I told you not to do it!
They’re also used to say that you are not worried about or bothered by sth:
And then I thought, what the hell, I can do it. [= it’s not a problem]
And then I thought, what the heck, I can do it.
I didn’t win this time, but what the hell! [= it doesn’t matter, I don’t care]
I didn’t win this time, but what the heck!
The expressions THE HELL OUT OF and THE HECK OUT OF are used for emphasis after words like scare, frighten, and beat:
You scared the hell out of me! [= very badly]
You scared the heck out of me!
He beat the hell out of the burglar. [= very badly]
He beat the heck out of the burglar.
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