Holy-moly
Posted by ESC on May 29, 2003
In Reply to: Holy-moly posted by Bruce Kahl on May 29, 2003
: : could someone please tell me what holy-moly means and what moly is
: holy cow
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: Also, holy mackerel or Moses or moly or smoke. An exclamation
of surprise, astonishment, delight, or dismay, as in Holy cow, I
forgot the wine, or Holy mackerel, you won! or Holy Moses, here
comes the teacher! or Holy smoke, I didn't know you were here too.
The oldest of these slangy expletives uses mackerel, dating from
about 1800; the one with Moses dates from about 1850 and cow from
about 1920. None has any literal significance, and moly is a neologism
devised to rhyme with holy and possibly a euphemism for Moses.
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: The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer
© 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust
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- Holy moley ESC 05/29/03