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Hrsanei Posted 14 years ago
Vocabulary

Express of surprise

Hi.
There are several idioms expressing surprise, such as

1. Holy cow
2. Holy smoke
3. Holy ***
4. Holy shi-t
5. Holey moley
6. Holy mackere

I have frequently heard the first four, but not the last two. I found the last two in the dictionary(http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/holy ). I would be grateful if you could let me know whether they are common or you have ever used them.
Thank you
  

Top answer

I've heard of "Holy mackerel", but don't use it. It sounds very old-fashioned to me. "Holey moley" (and "Holey boley", by the way) are still around.

— CalifJim

  • I've heard of "Holy mackerel", but don't use it.
  • It sounds very old-fashioned to me.
  • "Holey moley" (and "Holey boley", by the way) are still around.
  • I hear them occasionally.
  • CJ
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4 Answers
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I've heard of "Holy mackerel", but don't use it. It sounds very old-fashioned to me.

"Holey moley" (and "Holey boley", by the way) are still around. I hear them occasionally.

CJ
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Thank you Jim for your reply.
Is the use of e in the word holy intentional or it is just a typo?
Because, you have written holy in two different ways.
Thank you
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hrsaneiIs the use of e in the word holy intentional or it is just a typo?Because, you have written holy in two different ways.
I just copied them the way you had written them. I thought you got those spellings from the link.

For bizarre expressions like these, the spelling is not crucial. The correct spelling is holy for most other purposes t
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Oh, you are right, that's interesting that I didn't notice the misspelling in my post and noticed the one in your comment.
Never trust me Jim, I am awful in spelling.
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