holy cow

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interjection Slang.

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

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Origin of holy cow

First recorded in 1920–25

Words nearby holy cow

holy bread, holy cats, Holy City, holy clover, Holy Communion, holy cow, Holy Cross, holy day, holy day of obligation, Holy Family, Holy Father

How to use holy cow in a sentence

I mean, they love you, but holy cow, I mean the texts … the texts.
Making a Killing With Jim Cramer|Eugene Robinson|February 1, 2021|Ozy
The Via Dolorosa ends at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and is marked by nine stations of the cross.
Oops! Jesus’ Last Steps Are in the Wrong Place|Candida Moss|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
“You were going to work your way into my marriage and you were going to call its new three-way shape holy” the narrator recounts.
A Novel Nearly Impossible to Review|Nicholas Mancusi|December 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Because holy hell was that bland, unfunny, uncomfortable, and just plain confusing.
The Biggest Bombs of 2014: ‘Sex Tape,’ Mariah Carey’s Vocals, ‘How I Met Your Mother’ and More|Kevin Fallon|December 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST

And he was indicted in Israel last week on charges he plotted to blow up sites holy to Islam.
The Strange Case of the Christian Zionist Terrorist|Creede Newton|December 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Israelis often are amused and appalled by the crazies attracted to the Holy Land, and not only for religious reasons.
The Strange Case of the Christian Zionist Terrorist|Creede Newton|December 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
After his death crowds flocked to his grave to touch his holy monument, till the authorities caused the church yard to be shut.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology|Joel Munsell
His holy book says: There is more joy over one sinner that repenteth than over ninety and nine just men.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV.|Various
Their sin began on Holy Thursday, with so little secrecy and so bad an example, that the affair was beginning to leak out.
The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume XX, 1621-1624|Various
All these things shall be for good to the holy, so to the sinners and the ungodly they shall be turned into evil.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version|Various
The spread of the holy gospel and uninterrupted preaching went on until the return of the ambassador.
The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume XX, 1621-1624|Various

Other Idioms and Phrases with holy cow

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.”