holy cow

interjection

, Slang.

1. (used to express bewilderment, surprise, or astonishment.)

Word History and Origins

Origin of holy cow¹

First recorded in 1920–25

Idioms and Phrases

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.”

Example Sentences

I mean, they love you, but holy cow, I mean the texts … the texts.

From Ozy

It was like "Holy cow, if we're winning those seats we're going to have quite a night."

From The Daily Beast

Sarah Palin was what has to be called a “Holy Cow” story, to paraphrase Bob Woodward.

From The Daily Beast

The priest replied, "Your soul will go into the body of a holy cow."

From Project Gutenberg

For the sake of one of your precious eyelashes I would spit on the names of the gods and slaughter the holy cow.

From Project Gutenberg