holy smokes

English

Pronunciation

Rhymes: -əʊks

Interjection

holy smokes

Alternative form of holy smoke
- 1971, “Suicide Song”, in Loudon Wainwright III (lyrics), Album II, performed by Loudon Wainwright III:
  Stomp on the moon and spit in the ocean / Razzamatazz and I love you / Holy smokes and Land o' Goshen / You can do anything that you want to do.

Usage notes

holy smoke is a little more common than holy smokes in written publications,[1] but holy smokes has acquired a majority of usage in the US.[2]

References

holy smokes, holy smoke at Google Ngram Viewer
“Google Trends”, in Google Trends (in American English), 2023 September 11 (last accessed)

Further reading

“holy smokes”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

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