the hell out of me

what does it mean?

Thanks in advance

"… the hell out of " (colloquial, mildly vulgar) occurs after a verb and acts as an intensifier. For example:

“It scared the hell out of me” – it scared me a great deal
“It confuses the hell out of the poor kids” – it confuses the unfortunate children greatly

The expression is most often used with a certain smallish set of verbs, like “scare” and “confuse” illustrated.

Thanks Dozy :slight_smile: