definitions

holy terror

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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RELATED WORDS

terror, troublemaker, whippersnapper

Nearby words

holy see, holy sepulcher, holy sepulchre, holy spirit, holy synod, holy terror, holy thistle, holy thursday, holy trinity, holy war, holy water
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.