| Discussion--Pandemonium is a word that was originally coined by John Milton,
the great British writer, in the epic poem Paradise Lost (c. 1665). Milton
used this term to refer to hell. Literally, pandemonium means the "place of
all demons." We now use the term to refer to places that are like hell, or
what we imagine hell to be. Pandemonium is also used to refer to a state of
confusion and chaos.
Pandemonium is often capitalized because the origin of the word is a proper
noun. It is grammatically acceptable to use either case, but more often than
not you will see it used as a proper noun. Well, which is it, capital or
lower case? I am confused, I don't know what to do, this is chaos...this
is...Pandemonium!!!
If you watch a lot of sporting events you have undoubtedly heard the word Pandemonium. It is one of the favorite words of many sportscasters, including
Marv Albert and Bob Costas. Often times after an exciting victory when the
triumphant team is celebrating, Bob Costas can be heard yelling above the
celebration: "The players are going wild, they are ecstatic, it's Pandemonium out on the court!"
Pandemonium can also be used as a euphemism for the word "hell." It is
definitely a more acceptable word to use in public, and it makes a nice
substitute, but...somehow the phrase "all Pandemonium is breaking loose"
just loses some of the flair of the original phrase. That's just my opinion,
though.
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