| (used to express bewilderment, surprise, or astonishment.) |
| Main Entry: | holy cow |
| Part of Speech: | interj |
| Definition: | an exclamation of surprise, delight, indignation, or dismay |
| Usage: | slang, with many variations: holy Moses, [holy smoke], holy mackerel, holy moly |
holy cow
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."