Semper Ubi Sub Ubi
20 comments on this post.
Search us!
Ask a Question!
Puzzled by Posh?
Confounded by Cattycorner?
Baffled by Balderdash?
Flummoxed by Flabbergast?
Perplexed by Pandemonium?
Nonplussed by... Nonplussed?
Annoyed by Alliteration?
Don't be shy!
Send in your question!
Ken Reynhout:
September 3rd, 2012 at 4:39 pm
My late uncle, William Woolfolk, was one of the behind-the-scenes original authors and creators of Captain Marvel. He told me that he invented the phrase “Holy Moley,” but did not mention how he came up with it. It even made it into his obituary: http://articles.latimes.com/2003/aug/10/local/me-woolfolk10
Grandpa Chet Cox:
September 24th, 2012 at 1:17 am
Per C. C. Beck, Bill Parker did reference “the food of the gods,” and the first suggestions of the character – which was actually going to be a full team of heroes, each one with one of the powers of one of the ancient gods. Evidently, the editors of the time wanted to have only ONE hero (to compete with Superman) and Parker redesigned his original proposal.
And then went back to what he considered “real writing” — Mechanix Illustrated.
*jeep! & God Bless!
Colin W:
January 7th, 2013 at 5:37 pm
The last grand prior of the Knights Templar was named Jacques de Molay. Admittedly this sounds flaky, but is it possible that partisans of the order used holy moley to identify each other after he was burned at the stake and the order abolished?
John Wolff:
February 2nd, 2014 at 8:26 pm
For fun, see Mad Magazine’s “Captain Marble.” His magic word was SHAZOOM. The only part I remember was the “OO” which was the strength of an ox and the strength of another ox. Also see Flesh Garden and others.
Galen McKinley:
September 13th, 2014 at 7:29 pm
With no proof I have read the the phrase originated from a Sikh festival called Hola Mohalla in which mock battles are held. The story goes tyhat under the Raj, British soldiers started using the phrase to indicate something extraordinary.
Rob Dickinson:
January 9th, 2015 at 3:01 pm
Many years ago, I heard that the expression began because of Molech, an Ammonite god in Canaan. King Solomon built a temple, in which was the Holy of Holies, where God presided over the Ark of the Covenant. However, over time, idolatry crept into the land, including the use of many idols attributed to Molech. God reprimanded them, and said, “Only I am holy…get rid of your idolatry.”
James:
August 6th, 2015 at 2:13 am
The OED doesn’t define “holy moly,” but it does define “moly” quite exhaustively (I wasn’t sure whether Mr. Morris, by quoting only the OED’s definition of “moley,” meant to imply that it failed entirely to cover Homer’s plant as well as the expression under discussion).
It also offers a number of examples of “holy [whatever]!” as an expletive, and gives their place of origin as the U.S.; I assume that the OED’s compilers were satisfied to list just a handful of illustrations, rather than to hunt down every variant (or even to privilege one variant over another), given the sheer size of ground they were trying to cover.
Charlie Flynn:
October 12th, 2015 at 10:38 pm
I remember from out of the past (I’m talking fifty or sixty years ago) a piece of rhyming drivel that would not (probably) pass today’s PC strictures. Thus:
Holy Moly, King of the Jews
Bought his wife a pair of shoes
When the shoes began to wear,
Holy Moly, did he swear.
Lelde:
November 4th, 2015 at 11:23 pm
Mauli–hindi for red theead Holy Mauli
Lelde:
November 4th, 2015 at 11:25 pm
Mauli : red threads used in Hindi ceremony
Bill Weidner:
December 1st, 2015 at 2:39 pm
prefer the original with the e
Tom:
December 17th, 2015 at 5:07 pm
There is a reference here to Molech it in my research has come up along with holy cow both as a reference to the god(demon) Molech .
John:
February 20th, 2017 at 11:02 pm
Holy moley came from Amos and Andy…….a tv siires in the early days
Vid:
May 15th, 2017 at 8:02 pm
I believe it originated during the British Raj, roundabout the same time as ‘holy cow’. A moley is the Hindi name for the sacred thread worn by Hindus on their wrist, hence the term ‘holy moley’.
Anonymous:
January 31st, 2018 at 9:01 am
is holy mollie holy water?
Is Mary Mollie?
Dr:
September 14th, 2019 at 9:22 am
When the snow melts and the grass begins to show, and you see all the holes from the moles, you probably would say, HOLY MOLEY ?
Graeme:
March 21st, 2020 at 5:26 am
Wiktionary believes that “Moley” is a deliberate corruption, of Molly (for rhyming purposes). Molly is (or was) a common nickname for Mary.
I personally suspect, without supporting evidence, that this is an abbreviation of “Holy Moley, Mother of God!”.
I also personally suspect that it arose in Ireland, as my memory strongly associates the longer phrase with an Irish accent.
I also think that I encountered the full version in the sitcom “Father Ted”, but both of these could be cases of my memory feeding me that which I want to believe!
chris brown:
March 27th, 2020 at 12:53 pm
Might the Sikh festival of Hola Mohalla also be a source?
Jennifer Sanders:
April 29th, 2020 at 9:12 am
CS Lewis refers to ‘the herb moly’ in his essay ‘Fern-seed & Elephants’ (publ: Collins 1975 p114). It’s a figurative reference in his context for holding out against debaters who are proponents of those who reconstruct the origin/genesis of various literary texts.
Chris Karen:
February 16th, 2021 at 12:13 pm
Ah Pishaw! (would love to know about that!) But I say phooey and pishaw for all of the other answers, but only because I wanted to use those words. And also add a little of the modern carrying on of Holey Moley. Everyone knows it is Spanish, coming from Mexico and the tree of the Avocado fruit that makes a heavenly dish called GUACAMOLE …and all of us modern kids haha have shortened it into Holey Moley! Have I lost my cotton picking mind? (I bet I can guess that one right ) LOL.this morning was my first time here and I am in love! Thank You!