Bill Bruford and AC/DC, dude!

Excellent. Thanks for that, muso.

I've never thought about where "Hell's Bells" actually came from, though I used to hear it often enough (especially from people who wanted to do some major swearing but were restricted by context). Maybe it's a slightly disguised version of "Bloody Hell", which is at root more overtly sacrilegious? Bells are associated with churches and goodness - even in Notre Dame - so there's a bit of softening here. The quick rhyme, so beloved of childish slang, also helps soften the impact.

One of my schoolteachers used to come out with Hell's Teeth in his (fairly frequent) moments of anguish. I seem to have adopted that a little, which is scary. The phrase has an excellent hiss and bite in the middle. Try it next time you fancy expleting.

"Strewth" is similarly snappy.

Fisk