Holy Willie

British  

/ ˈwɪlɪ /

noun

1. a person who is hypocritically pious

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Etymology

Origin of Holy Willie

C18: from Burns' Holy Willie's Prayer

Example Sentences

For Burns believed in his own mind that these men, Holy Willie and the crew he typified, were thoroughly dishonest.

From Robert Burns Famous Scots Series by Setoun, Gabriel

Lowell imagines Holy Willie trying to shut Burns out of heaven.

From The Poet's Poet : essays on the character and mission of the poet as interpreted in English verse of the last one hundred and fifty years by Atkins, Elizabeth

He was as grave a man as Holy Willie.

From The Art of Letters by Lynd, Robert

But maybe," he said, "I oughtn't to be reading the like of that to you that's the son of the Manse, though nobody would think of Holy Willie and your father together.

From The Northern Iron by Birmingham, George A.