Meaning
'Hell an powder house' — utter chaos and uproar, a violent commotion or an explosive row. To say a place is 'hell an powder house' is to say it has erupted into complete pandemonium, everyone quarrelling, fists or bottles flying, everything in furious turmoil. The vivid image sets hell itself beside a powder house — a store of gunpowder ready to blow — to picture a scene at its most volatile and out of control, and the phrase names trouble of the loudest, wildest, most dangerous kind.
Examples
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Wen dem hear di news, di whole house tun hell an powder house.
When they heard the news, the whole house erupted into chaos.
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It was hell an powder house down a di market dis mawnin.
It was complete pandemonium down at the market this morning.
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Nuh start no argument yah suh, mi nuh want no hell an powder house.
Don't start any argument here, I don't want any uproar.
Origin
A powder house was the store for gunpowder; pairing 'hell' with a powder house — one spark from disaster — paints a picture of explosive, all-out chaos.
How it’s used
An expression for a scene of complete uproar, turmoil, or an explosive quarrel.