meaning - "Come Hell or high water" vs "Lord willing and the creek don't rise"


Recently I've wondered about two idioms which have a strange relationship.



Come Hell or high water



and



Lord willing and the creek don't rise




  1. Grammatical accuracy, alternative formulations, and questionable folk etymologies, and literal meanings aside, why do these two phrases (often used interchangably) have such different implications?


My thoughts so far have centered around the former being an expression of an internal locus of control (i.e. I will make this happen) and the latter of an external locus of control (i.e. I hope this won't not happen).



  1. Why does the more apparently positive formulation reference Hell while the less (certainly) positive one mentions the 'Lord?'



Answer



"Come Hell or high water" anticipates the possibility of adverse conditions and appropriately groups those with Hell, while "Lord willing and the creek don't rise" anticipates positive conditions (adverse conditions held at bay) and that is appropriately paired with an appeal to G-d.


They are similar in that they reference similar adverse conditions and I think you've correctly identified the distinction between them and appropriate context for each.


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