Re: USAGE: English adverbials 'the heck', 'the hell', etc.

On Friday, April 9, 2004, at 03:32 AM, jcowan@REUTERSHEALTH.COM wrote:

> Gary Shannon scripsit:
>
>> What the hell, why not add these as well:
>>
>> Like hell you are!
>> ??Like heck you are!
>> *Like f**k you are!
>>
>> He ran like hell.
>> He ran like heck.
>> *He ran like f**k.
>
> I find all of these six equally grammatical (though the contexts of
> acceptability vary, to be sure).
Yes, I've heard similar sentences to all six. The preceding questions
marks and asterisks are not called for. "Like heck you are?" is common
enough in certain areas of Britain and the forms with the f-words I hear
with tedious frequency in the speech of my students.

But a thought occurs to me. Is "heck" actually a portmanteau formation?

Ray
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