"holy moly" - meaning ???
Mark Torben Rudolph
Hi there,
in manz books I read the expression
"holy moly" (in plain dialogue).
Now I heard it in a Walther Matthau movie, too.
But what on earth does that mean??
Manz thanks,
Mark.
.
Mark Israel
> Hi there! In many books I read the expression "holy moly" (in
> plain dialogue). Now I heard it in a Walther Matthau movie, too.
> But what on earth does that mean??
It's an expression of astonishment.
Originally, an astonished person would invoke something of
religious significance: "Holy Jesus!", "Holy Mary!" In time,
humorous variations of these phrases emerged: "Holy cow!",
"Holy mackerel!", "Holy smoke!"
"Moly" is 1) a magic herb with black roots and white flowers,
given to Odysseus by Hermes to counteract Circe's spells; and
2) a liliaceous plant, _Allium moly_, that is native to south
Europe and has yellow flowers in a dense cluster.
But in this case, "moly" was obviously chosen because it
rhymes with "holy" (although it may derive from the earlier
"Holy Moses!"). You have a similar penchant for rhymes in
German. My favourite German expression is "Das ist doppelt
gemoppelt."
--
mis...@scripp.edu Mark Israel
Harlan Messinger
: Hi there,
It's one of many euphemisms English has as substitutes for taking God's
name in vain. Others are "Jeepers Creepers" or "Jiminy Crickets" instead
of "Jesus Christ", and "for crying out loud" instead of "for Christ our
Lord."
"Holy Moly" is an expression of surprise and bewilderment or great
concern. "Gott in Himmel" is something like it.
Rachel Kadel
I tend to believe that Holy Moly is a euphemization of Holy Moses
(although why one would euphemise Holy Moses, I can't say.)
Rachel
Vicki Richman
<mis...@scripps.edu>:
> "Moly" is 1) a magic herb with black roots and white flowers,
> given to Odysseus by Hermes to counteract Circe's spells; and
> 2) a liliaceous plant, _Allium moly_, that is native to south
> Europe and has yellow flowers in a dense cluster.
> But in this case, "moly" was obviously chosen because it
> rhymes with "holy" (although it may derive from the earlier
> "Holy Moses!"). You have a similar penchant for rhymes in
> German. My favourite German expression is "Das ist doppelt
> gemoppelt."
That is a scholarly, creative reply. But _who_ obviously
chose "moly"? The passive voice, denying "choose" its
rightful subject, artfully conceals the crucial gap in that
etymology.
"Holy Moley" [sic] was the catch phrase of Captain Marvel
and his alter ego, Billy Batson, boy broadcaster, in the
comic book of the 40s and early 50s. Captain Marvel stories,
compared with those of his rival Superman, tended toward
eccentricity, borrowings from Greek mythology, fantasy,
white American chauvinism, veiled anti-Semitism and
anti-intellectualism -- the artists derived the recurring
villain Dr. Sivana from Einstein and drew him with
stereotypical Jewish features -- and might-makes-right
solutions.
"Holy Moley" entered the language and literature as an
in-joke signaling other Captain Marvel readers that the
speaker was one of them.
For this etymology, you'd have done better sneaking a peak
at a comic book during a classroom lesson.
--
Vicki Richman vic...@panix.com National Writers Union
Bedford, Brooklyn NY PGP 2.6 UAW Local 1981, AFL/CIO
"All women become like their mothers. That is their tragedy. No man does.
That's his." -Oscar Wilde
Stephen Chernicoff
(Rachel Kadel) wrote:
> I tend to believe that Holy Moly is a euphemization of Holy Moses
> (although why one would euphemise Holy Moses, I can't say.)
I agree with Rachel, but I believe "Holy Moses" is already a euphemism for
"Holy Jesus." Other similar expressions are
Gee whiz for Jesus
Gee whillikers
Jehoshaphat
Jeepers Cripes Jesus Christ
Jeepers Creepers
Jiminy Cricket
Judas Priest
Oh my gosh Oh my God
Oh my golly
Oh my goodness
Tarnation Damnation
Deuce Devil
Dickens
This kind of thing occurs in other languages too, as in French "Sacre
bleu" for "Sacre Dieu." Anybody have any others?
Steve
Annabel Smyth
cher...@ccnet.com "Stephen Chernicoff" writes:
>In article <38se1e$5...@scunix2.harvard.edu>, rka...@fas.harvard.edu
>(Rachel Kadel) wrote:
>
>> I tend to believe that Holy Moly is a euphemization of Holy Moses
>> (although why one would euphemise Holy Moses, I can't say.)
>
>
>I agree with Rachel, but I believe "Holy Moses" is already a euphemism for
>"Holy Jesus." Other similar expressions are
>
[list deleted]
>
>This kind of thing occurs in other languages too, as in French "Sacre
>bleu" for "Sacre Dieu." Anybody have any others?
>
I try not to use blasphemy, so use euphemisms like mad! Two of my
favourites are "Gordon Bennett!" and "Gideon's aunt!" I also go
"Oh fircones!" (instead of "O f*ck it!") and my daughter expands that
to "Oh furckleburgers!"
And lots of people say "Sugar!" instead of "Sh*t", although our
Prime Minister said "Ess-aitch-one-tee!" on the radio one day and
hasn't yet lived it down!
As a variant on that, my daughter goes "Oh bee you double-gee double-
ee arr!" and when challenged looks innocent and says, "But it doesn't
spell 'bugger'!"
Which, I suppose, it doesn't. Kids!!!
--
Annabel Smyth Ann...@amsmyth.demon.co.uk
^^^^^^^^^^^^^
"Only when the caterpillar has consented to . . . total
annihilation can the butterfly be constructed." (Sara Maitland)
Chuck Harrington
>In article s...@riscsm.scripps.edu, mis...@scripps.edu (Mark Israel) writes:
>> > Hi there! In many books I read the expression "holy moly" (in
>> > plain dialogue). Now I heard it in a Walther Matthau movie, too.
>> > But what on earth does that mean??
>>
>> It's an expression of astonishment.
My first encounter with the expression was in Marvel family comic books
circa 1950. The Marvels (Captain Marvel, Captain Marvel, Jr., and Mary
Marvel) all had the ability to magically acquire super powers by speaking
appropriate phrases. When astonished, they said "Holy Moly!"
I've wondered since if it was a reference to the magic herb, moly, of Greek
origin, reputedly the charm used by the witch Circe against Odysseus's
men to turn them into swine.
Mark Israel
} That is a scholarly, creative reply. But _who_ obviously
} chose "moly"? The passive voice, denying "choose" its
} rightful subject, artfully conceals the crucial gap in that
} etymology.
}
} "Holy Moley" [sic] was the catch phrase of Captain Marvel
} and his alter ego, Billy Batson, boy broadcaster, in the
} comic book of the 40s and early 50s. [...]
}
} "Holy Moley" entered the language and literature as an
} in-joke signaling other Captain Marvel readers that the
} speaker was one of them.
}
} For this etymology, you'd have done better sneaking a peak
} at a comic book during a classroom lesson.
Well, I couldn't have read comic books in the '50s, because I
wasn't born yet! But at least I'd heard of Captain Marvel. Thank
you for bringing this info to my attention. RHUD2 doesn't give a
date of first use for the expression, and OED doesn't include it
at all (although it does have "Shazam"), so I can't confirm whether
Captain Marvel coined the phrase or merely popularized it.
Thanks again!
--
mis...@scripps.edu Mark Israel
Lee Rudolph
>And lots of people say "Sugar!" instead of "Sh*t", although our
>Prime Minister said "Ess-aitch-one-tee!" on the radio one day and
>hasn't yet lived it down!
SH1T? You mean John Major is really B1FF? It kind of figures.
Lee Rudolph
Mike Oliver
>My first encounter with the expression was in Marvel family comic books
>circa 1950. The Marvels (Captain Marvel, Captain Marvel, Jr., and Mary
>Marvel) all had the ability to magically acquire super powers by speaking
>appropriate phrases. When astonished, they said "Holy Moly!"
>I've wondered since if it was a reference to the magic herb, moly, of Greek
>origin, reputedly the charm used by the witch Circe against Odysseus's
>men to turn them into swine.
No, it refers to molybdenum, which, to the storied beings whose initials
spell SHAZAM, is the most sacred metal of all.
Of course "moly" with this meaning is pronounced "Molly," so "Holy moly"
should be read "Holy Molly." But the public, not understanding the
significance, has perverted the pronunciation.
Anders Thulin
>In article <Cys0s...@sun2.iusb.indiana.edu> char...@sun1.iusb.indiana.edu (Chuck Harrington) writes:
>
>
>No, it refers to molybdenum, which, to the storied beings whose initials
>spell SHAZAM, is the most sacred metal of all.
Hm. And since molybdenum is atomic element 42, we just might have
a clue to what the ultimate question really was ...
--
Anders Thulin a...@linkoping.trab.se 013-23 55 32
Telia Research AB, Teknikringen 2B, S-583 30 Linkoping, Sweden