holy shamoley
- idiom
- Slang
:
¡santo cielo!
- When I saw the price of the house, all I could say was holy shamoley.
Examples
-
Holy shamoley, it's snowing in June!
-
Holy shamoley, that was the best concert I've ever been to!
-
Holy shamoley, you got the promotion? That's amazing!
-
Holy shamoley, I can't believe how fast you ran the marathon!
-
Holy shamoley, this cake is incredible; did you really bake it yourself?
Synonyms
347
8.9
An angry or surprised question showing you do not believe something
90
8.9
A short cry to show surprise, confusion, disbelief, or casual acceptance
35
8.2
An exclamation that shows strong surprise or shock
26
9.9
A strong phrase people say when they are very surprised or shocked
17
9.4
A short informal cry showing surprise or strong feeling
9
7.7
A short phrase people say to show surprise, shock, or admiration
8
7.6
A short phrase people say to show surprise or disbelief
5
7.5
A short phrase people say to show surprise or shock
4
9.5
A short word people say when they are surprised or shocked
3
8.2
A short cry to show strong surprise or admiration
3
9.6
To say when you are very surprised or shocked
2
9.6
A short surprised phrase people say when they are shocked
1
9.9
A short old word people say to show surprise or strong feeling
A short shout that shows surprise or shock
To show surprise or doubt
A word people say to show strong surprise
A short phrase people say to show surprise at something amazing
A short phrase people say when they feel surprised or do not believe something
A strong cry showing surprise or shock
A short phrase showing surprise or disbelief used by people who call on Allah
A short cry showing surprise or shock
A short shocked cry showing disbelief about something ridiculous
A strong spoken reaction showing surprise and disbelief
Often comes before a word to show anger or surprise
A short cry of surprise when something is hard to believe
How Surprised
- Offensive
26
9.9
- Slang
- Informal
2
9.6
- Informal
∞
1.0
321
6.6
∞
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
holy + shamoley
The pattern 'holy + X' is a productive exclamative construction in English, so the element 'holy' cues surprise or astonishment. However, 'shamoley' is a non‑standard, nonce word with no compositional meaning, so the specific lexical contribution is opaque. A B1 learner who knows 'holy' and is familiar with exclamative formulas could infer the expression marks surprise, but the phrase is not fully predictable from its parts.
Etymology
Holy shamoley may come from playful changes of older sayings like holy moly or holy smoke, where people swap the second word for a silly sound to make the reaction stronger. That's why saying holy shamoley shows 'surprise' or strong 'disbelief'.