Origin of Phrases - H
Hell's half acre
Meaning: A long and frustrating trip.
Example: I looked all over hell's half acre trying to find a left handed monkey wrench.
Origin: Hell's half acre is a lava flow about 15 miles west of Idaho Falls, Idaho. It is 4.5 miles of rough, irregular terrain that is very difficult to navigate. It is so named because its cracks, holes, and crags give the area an otherworldly, surreal, and perhaps hellish appearance. A search of Hell's half acre would indeed be a long and difficult task.
Many of the scenes in the 1997 film "Starship Troopers" (based on Robert Heinlein's novel of the same name) in which the characters were on an alien planet, were filmed at Hell's half acre.