holy smoke
3
8.2
- idiom
- /ˈhoʊli smoʊk/
- Informal
:
¡santo cielo!
- And when you see which one you are, it is holy smokes, a game changer.
- said, 'holy smoke'
But the YouTube ad revenue space, holy smokes it is exploding.
- But the YouTube ad revenue space, holy smokes it is exploding.
- And I'm like, holy smokes, talk about fear, talk about brokenness.
- But holy smokes, I don't know, man.
- And I was like, holy smokes, that wasn't in the movie.
- The photographer, he was like, holy smokes.
- Oh gosh, oh gosh, holy smokes.
Examples
-
I mean, obviously I should have known that, but holy smokes, that thing is cool.
-
Then all of a sudden I remembered some things about the operation and me getting smart, and I said, "Holy smoke."
Fiction book (2000) -
I mean, holy smoke, what did we just trigger?
Blog text (4) -
OK, holy smokes, do we see what just happened?
-
Oh my gosh, holy smokes, these are huge.
-
Because when you spot it, holy smokes, you can take the steps to repair this and experience more joy.
-
And I was like, holy smokes, that wasn't in the movie.
-
But that drywall job, holy smokes, it's a little scary.
-
Holy smokes, I'm late.
-
holy smoke, that roller coaster was faster than I expected!
Synonyms
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
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
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
A short shout to show surprise or amazement
A word people say to show strong surprise
To show surprise or doubt
A short shout that shows surprise or shock
How Surprised
Surface Forms
Morphology
holy + smoke
The interjection 'holy smoke' is an idiomatic exclamation whose meaning of surprise or astonishment does not follow from the literal senses of 'holy' (sacred) + 'smoke' (vapour). Its force arises from conventionalized religion-based euphemistic or minced-oath use rather than transparent composition, so a B1 learner knowing the constituents would be unlikely to infer the exclamatory meaning.
Etymology
Holy smoke may come from old church services where priests burned incense and a strong cloud of 'holy smoke' filled the air. That sudden, dramatic image became a way to show surprise, so today holy smoke is used to express 'surprise'.