> Und dann wäre erst recht der Teufel los gewesen. "And then the devil would have been unbound all the more." But it actually means that there would have been chaos with additional problems. We've got another version: "Und dann wäre erst recht die Hölle (= hell) los gewesen." Example: Mister A has got a very difficult neighbour, the old Miss B. She always yells at everybody. So people tend to avoid her. So one day Mister A comes home late. His shoes are dirty because it is raining outside. Fortunately, he notices the stains in the stairwell and cleans them before Miss B would see them. Otherwise "wäre der Teufel losgewesen" (= he would have landed into trouble). / Otherwise "wäre erst recht der Teufel losgewesen" (= he would have landed into trouble even more because Miss B would have yelled at him even more). 2. Sie sagte, ich würde von ihr hören, ehe vierundzwanzig Stunde um seien. um sein = vorbei sein = to be over "seien" is Konjunktiv I, indirect speech.