960: holy cow Jul 26, 2017

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The expression "holy cow" is a fairly versatile one denoting surprise and alarm, but it has nothing to do with cows. It does, however, relate to 'holy', in a way, as, much like 'gadzooks' and other expressions, this was a way that people got around saying certain religious terms like 'G*d' or in this case 'Christ' in vain. Much like most of those other expressions relating to the supernatural in a euphemistic way that are used in English, this is from the Victorian Era, with the first documented use appearing in 1905, though it was likely used earlier in speech.

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