old orthodox Hades

15:56 Jan 26, 2018 

You are right --literally.

"Hades" is the Greek word for the Underworld --which was actually quite different from the much later Christian "hell"; but nonetheless it serves very well as a euphemistic stand-in for a "naughty" word the use of which was strictly forbidden in 1916.

And remember that the Operative factor in 1916 was the absolute *necessity* of NOT using the "swear word" in any kind of public, formal setting --especially not in a courtroom, where the user was seeking to win a decision from a (perhaps prudish or straight-laced) judge.

12:39 Jan 25, 2018 

You made me more certain about this expression. Thank you!

09:26 Jan 25, 2018 

I should think an educated speaker in 1916 would not be referring to the Christian notion of Hell, when saying "the orthodox Hades", but the ancient Greek concept of Hades as the underworld with various bleak realms for the dead.

14:57 Jan 24, 2018 

Sheri.

Saying "hell" in public in 1916 would definitely have been a No-No --I don't think that that word was really permissible in, say, film titles until the mid-'50s

http://www.imdb.com/search/keyword?keywords=hell&sort=releas...

(And think of the uproar which Rhett's famous line "Frankly my dear, I don't give a dam" caused in 1939 --with the censors confusing "a tinker's dam" with the forbidden swear word.)

I remember this title

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048729/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

causing quite a stir in Houston (Texas) when it was first released in 1955.

So Ms. Baber's choice to use an acceptable circumlocution in 1916 --and in a courtroom, no less-- was quite understandable; especially since she was expressing the wish that those who opposed her environmentalism might end up "There".

12:03 Jan 24, 2018 

Most likely she simply wanted to avoid the more taboo word “Hell.” In the US (at least), people will sometimes say things like “go to Hades” or “rot in Hades” when they’re trying to avoid the curse word.