holy cow
An exclamation of surprise, shock, or astonishment. Holy cow, the bill for that dinner was nearly $200! We won the lottery? Holy cow, that's amazing news! Are you all right? Holy cow, we could have been killed in that accident!
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
Holy cow!
Inf. Wow! Holy cow! I never expected such a nice gift! Give me a chance! Holy cow, don't rush me!
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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."
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Holy cow!
exclam. Wow! Give me a chance! Holy cow, don’t rush me!
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.