helvetin kuustoista

Finnish

Etymology

Literally, “hell's sixteen”, or more loosely translated as “damned sixteen”. According to a common story, referring to the date of May 16, the original Flag Day of the Finnish military to celebrate the anniversary of White victory over the Reds in the Finnish Civil War, and thus an accursed day to Reds and their supporters. This may however be apocryphal. Other theories include association with Swedish sjutton (“seventeen”), used as a euphemism in place of taboo words, and a reference to the card game of twenty-one.

Interjection

helvetin kuustoista (colloquial)

  1. (idiomatic) An intensified form of helvetti.
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