Intense fires or flames; also an exclamation expressing frustration or surprise (as in 'what the blazes').
From Old English 'blæse' meaning 'torch' or 'flame,' related to 'blaze.' The interjection developed as a mild euphemism for stronger curses, likely evolving in the 1600s.
Before electricity, 'blazes' was slang for hell itself—people would say 'go to blazes' the way we might say 'go away'! The word became a safe way to express anger without being truly blasphemous.
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