Holy Joe
Americannoun
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a chaplain, especially in the U.S. armed forces.
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a minister or priest.
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a sanctimonious or overly pious person.
noun
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a minister or chaplain
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any sanctimonious or self-righteous person
Etymology
Origin of Holy Joe
First recorded in 1870–75
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
His father, a fiery Methodist known as "Holy Joe," used to tell him: "When I take a thing to prayer, I always succeed."
From Time Magazine Archive
"Holy Joe" McKee, grave, handsome, scholarly, was born & bred in the sprawling Bronx north of the Harlem River.
From Time Magazine Archive
Holy Joe was a complete bear, even in his dealings with heaven.
From Time Magazine Archive
Credited with some part in kicking "Holy Joe," Tammany stumbling block, upstairs into a $50,000 job was Tammany's foxy little Boss John Francis Curry.
From Time Magazine Archive
I had been bred to worship force, it was the only deity I knew, and Holy Joe was in my eyes the symbol of force.
From The Blood Ship by Norman Springer
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
