What is the meaning of the phrase ‘holy Toledo’?
A humorous mock-swear word based on the taboo against blaspheming religious terms, and an exclamation of shock, surprise or astonishment.
What is the origin of the phrase ‘holy Toledo’?
‘Toledo’ is a place name. There are two locations called Toledo, one historic one in Spain, and a newer one in Ohio USA which was named after its Spanish counterpart. Toledo, Spain is often called “the Holy City of Toledo” and Toledo, Ohio has a heavy concentration of churches located on Collingwood Boulevard. So, there are two possible explanations of why someone might associate Toledo with the word ‘holy’.
The other main origin story for the phrase ‘holy Toledo’ is that Toledo, Ohio was a holy city for gangsters, because there was an agreement between perpetrators of organised crime and law enforcement that they would simply leave eachother alone in Toledo.
The earliest recorded uses of the exclamation ‘holy Toledo’ date back to 1908 in the Monroe City [Missouri] Democrat, and in 1928 in The Saturday Evening Post. It also appears in Thomas Johnson’s Red War in 1936 and in Max Shulman’s 1951 collection of stories, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis.
The mock-swear word was further popularised in the 1960s, when it was used by two American actors who originate from Toledo, Ohio, namely Joe E. Brown and Danny Thomas. But what really got the phrase into common vernacular was the use of the term in the Batman animated series when it was often used by the Batman’s sidekick, Robin, who used a lot of mock swear words that began with the word ‘holy’, such as ‘holy smokes’.
What are some notable uses of the phrase ‘holy Toledo’?
Since then, the phrase ‘holy Toledo’ has also cropped up in the long running animations Looney Tunes and The Simpsons. It has also appeared in the film Back to the Future Part III released in 1990.
