Finding the unexpectedly straight line to ‘hell bent’

Today’s question: What is the origin of the phrase “hell bent for election?” The key word here is “bent.” You would expect that should mean curved or diverted, but in this case, just because the English language is so ornery, it means a direct route.

And the “hell” part is sort of an amplifier to make “hell bent” mean “recklessly determined’’ or words to that effect.

It turns out you can be hell bent for all sorts of things. You can, for instance, be hell bent for breakfast, Sunday and Georgia, among other things, all meaning determined to get something done in a hurry.

Hell bent for election goes back to the 1840 race for Maine governor.

In that year Edward Kent, a Whig, was trying to regain the governorship after being defeated by John Fairfield the last time around.

The Whigs were bound and determined to win and used a campaign song that included these lyrics:

“Oh have you heard how old Maine went? / She went hell-bent for Governor Kent / And Tippecanoe and Tyler, too.’’

The Tippecanoe and Tyler thing referred to that year’s presidential race in which the Whigs’ presidential ticket was William Henry Harrison and John Tyler.

Years earlier, as governor of the Indiana Territory, Harrison led an army that defeated a coalition of Native Americans in a battle near the Tippecanoe River. That put Harrison in the national eye and won him a snappy nickname.

The most common thing to be hell bent for is leather, referring to a saddle or horse whip and meaning to ride in a hurry.