Holy Moley!; (1929)

[Sam Clements]

This was an attempt to antedate any possibly first use of the term 'Holy
Moly' (or Moley).  Since Captain Marvel first appeared in 1940, my earlier
cite from 1946 didn't prove that it occured before the comic.  It only
antedated HDAS.

These current cites only antedates HDAS as MW and OED don't list it.

Using Ancestry.com, from the Gettysburg(PA) Compiler, March 27, 1929.  Page
4, col. 5:
   (From a juvenile story)

     <<"Rolly polly, bright and jolly!"  Maybe "Remmy," my faithful
typewriter, should have spent it, "Roly poly, holy moly!">>

And from the Arcadia(CA) Tribune, May 4, 1936.  Page 1(I think), col. 7:

(a column entitled "Headline Parade" by a R. M. Orr)

     <<Two swell dames ride with George Shaw
and he violates the law,
Runs a signal, can't shift gears,
Shapely hosiery intereferes.
Hoover doesn't care for Landon
Since he cannot lay his hand on
Alfred and so run his show;
Anti-Herbie is no go.
Vandenberg for president
Is the latest increment
In the list of candidates
Swinging on the alley gates.
Favorite in Derby loses
As Bold Venture swiftly cruises
To the finish; favorites tumble
When cocksureness makes them stumble.
New Deal is no longer holy
to Professor Raymond Moley
When he joins Hugh Johnson's sally
In an anti-New Deal rally.
<snip>

My question on this last cite would be is the "New Deal is no longer holy/to
Professor Raymond Moley" a possible origin of the "Holy Moley" spelling of
the term?

SC
----- Original Message -----
From: "Sam Clements" <sclements at NEO.RR.COM>
To: <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Sent: Sunday, August 10, 2003 11:27 AM
Subject: Re: Holy Moley!;


> From: <Bapopik at AOL.COM>
> To: <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Sent: Sunday, August 10, 2003 3:08 AM
>
>
>
> >
> >
> > William Woolfolk, 86, Writer Behind Comic-Book Heroes, Dies
> > By ERIC P. NASH
> >
> >     Mr. Woolfolk did not create new characters, but said he coined one
of
> the
> > most famous lines in comics: Captain Marvel's exclamation "Holy Moley!"
> "He
> > created that so Captain Marvel would have something to say when Captain
> Marvel
> > was particularly astonished," said Joanna Martine Woolfolk, his third
> wife.
> > They were divorced in 1999.
>
> Those third wives! They'l believe anything !
>
> From ancestry, Coshocton County Democrat (OH), March 13, 1946:
>
> The pudgy-cheeked, wild-haired Jimmy sat back at his familiar desk
yesterday
> and ejaculated:
>
>    "Holy Moly, what we're going to do with this team!  Look at that list
of
> backs--Pat Harder, Chief Johnson, Elmer Angeman, Paul Christman, <snip>"
>
> A story about the Chicago Cardinals football team.
>
> Sam Clements
>