Holy Joe—(Nautical) a parson; a devoutly religious person:
- They all have these Holy Joe voices when they start giving their sermons.
Holy Willie—a hypocritically pious person:
- The Holy Willies were just like the slave-owners who outlawed traditional African religions.
Note: Neither expression correlates in meaning with the phrase Holy Moses—(exclam.) used to express strong feelings of astonishment, pleasure, or anger:
- Copland was astonished to see things he had not looked at for over sixty years. “Holy Moses!” he exclaimed, “I kept everything!”