come hell or high water
Whatever it takes
Come hell or high water means no matter what obstacles arise—expressing absolute determination to accomplish something regardless of difficulties: I'll be there come hell or high water.
The phrase evokes two catastrophic forces, hellfire and flood, as if to say even these couldn't prevent action.
Often appears as a modifier: a come-hell-or-high-water commitment.
- rain or shineGuaranteed to occur
- come what mayDespite any consequences
- somehowIn an unspecified manner
- definitelyWith complete certainty
- undoubtedlyWith total certainty
absolutely · against all odds · weather the storm · stick it out · resolve · certainly · sink or swim · grit · hardship · tenacity · through thick and thin · bound and determined · fortitude · categorically · no matter what · steadfastness · devotion · persistence
- folk sayingsproverb, adage, maxim, folk saying, old saying
- stubbornnessstubbornness, obstinacy, pigheadedness, bullheadedness, mulishness
- perseverancepersist, never give up, tenacity, hang in there, endurance
- reliabilityreliable, dependable, trustworthy, consistent, faithful
come hell or high watertentatively
Without full commitment
conditionally · half-heartedly · halfheartedly · perhaps · maybe
come hell or high waterthrow in the towel
Concede defeat voluntarily
call it quits · abandon ship · cut and run · fair-weather · wishy-washy
coming, comer, comers, hellish, hellishly, higher, highest, highly, highness