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In an online game, before a new round of game began, I said 'I am noob as hell', and the player, a total stranger, next to me said 'chill out, bro'.

In the Free Dictionary, 'as hell' is not labeled as 'offensive', neither is it in the Cambridge Dictionary. That is a bit weird, since the phrase is not offensive, why did he/she bother to tell me to chill out. (I didn't say any other thing other than that statement, neither did I do any other thing.)

What does the use of 'as hell' sound like to a native English speaker?

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  • The player could have been messing around with you because s/he is a jerk, or maybe s/he was feigning shock, i.e. it was said light heartedly. For some anglophones, "hell" is still a taboo word, admittedly, the percentage of people who would object shrinks as the boundaries of decency and morality are tested daily.
    – Mari-Lou A
    Commented Apr 30, 2022 at 11:56
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    I think the stranger over-reacted. In the UK at least, "...as Hell" is generally considered mild nowadays. My grandmother never would never say "Hell". She referred to it as "the other place."
    – Old Brixtonian
    Commented Apr 30, 2022 at 12:02
  • '...as hell' is just an intensifier, and by itself says nothing about the speaker's mental or emotional state.
    – Michael Harvey
    Commented Apr 30, 2022 at 12:28
  • @OldBrixtonian - if my father 60 years ago (e.g.) hit his thumb with the hammer while nailing some wood, he would shout 'Hell!' or 'Damn!' and even then these ejaculations sounded kind of antique.
    – Michael Harvey
    Commented Apr 30, 2022 at 12:30

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Mirriam-Webster states "informal + somewhat impolite. — used to make a statement more forceful "

Similarly "Chill out bro" is very casual language. It tells you to relax.

You use highly casual and fairly forceful language. You should not be surprised that the response is similarly casual. Don't try to over-interpret this.

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