''Holy Moly'' (also spelled ''Holy Moley'') is an exclamation of surprise that dates from at least around 1892. It is most likely a minced oath, a cleaned-up version of a taboo phrase such as "Holy Moses".PHrases.org.uk
/ref> It was popularized in the U.S. as an expression often used by

Billy Batson Captain Marvel, also known as Shazam, is a superhero appearing in American comic books originally published by Fawcett Comics and currently published by DC Comics. Artist C. C. Beck and writer Bill Parker created the character in 1939. Captai ...

, the alter ego of Captain Marvel, a superhero created for

Fawcett Publications Fawcett Publications was an American publishing company founded in 1919 in Robbinsdale, Minnesota by Wilford Fawcett, Wilford Hamilton "Captain Billy" Fawcett (1885–1940). It kicked off with the publication of the bawdy humor magazine ''Captai ...

References

{{reflist English words and phrases Euphemisms