holy terror

Idioms  

1. An exasperating individual, as in He was only five, but he was a holy terror, running wild through the house and throwing whatever he could lay his hands on. The adjective holy here is an intensifier. [Late 1800s]

---

Example Sentences

A former Olympic hammer thrower, the Crunchem Hall headmistress is described as “a gigantic holy terror, a fierce tyrannical monster who frightened the life out of the pupils and teachers alike.”

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 14, 2022

In the wind, it can be a holy terror.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 13, 2022

Interestingly, Joshua behaves well at his half-day preschool, but at home can be a holy terror!

From Slate • Jan. 15, 2021

David and Sara’s commitment to full-time parenting is only calf-leather deep, however, which leads to the show’s echt-sitcom contrivance: They recruit the barely employed Charlie as nanny for their holy terror of a daughter.

From New York Times • Mar. 15, 2019

That word, inasmuch, that’s a holy terror of a word.

From "Angela's Ashes: A Memoir" by Frank McCourt