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]

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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

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

From Slate • Jan. 15, 2021

This evolution from a passive naïf into a holy terror who rules by the fealty of her subjects is what has earned Daenerys, according to Clarke, the audience’s loyalty.

From Time • Jun. 29, 2017

Having watched his wife undergo a nightmare delivery, this playwright invests "Birthday" with a sense of holy terror at how things might go wrong.

From New York Times • Jun. 29, 2012

That familiar holy terror tore through her blood vessels and wrapped a vise grip around her heart.

From "Shadowshaper" by Daniel José Older