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Most American slang has no real meaning other than as just a form of expression.
"Holy" is usually treated as an adjective to exaggerate the significance of an expression. Examples:
Holy biscuits! Holy fishcakes! Holy cannoli! Holy cow! It is hot today!
I just picked any noun to exaggerate my surprise or amazement for something. Nowadays, most Americans are more blunt and use swear words in place of nouns. Usually sh*t or f*ck.
Dammit is just another type of this expression. However it's more used in times of anger or pain.
There's really no need to know these type of phrases but as long as you understand the core message being given.
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I always thought 'Holy Cow' was a reference to the veneration of cows in India. Of course I know the meaning of the expression, but is that not it's origin?
No, not really. It doesn't have a religious connotation (usually). People say it when something goes wrong, even little things. Like if someone drop something, they might say "damnit" to themselves but usually not out loud. "God-damnit" is another one, but it's considered too strong for most people. You dont really hear it unless someone is really angry, or they just don't care about how they're perceived.
A lot of the religious sayings dont really have anything to do with religion. Just like "holy cow" doesn't have anything do to with religion. Some other ones...
"oh my God"- used to express surprise/shock. Can be replaces with "oh my gosh"
"Jesus Christ!"- same as above^
"Mother of God!"- same as above^
"Thank God"-used to express gratefulness, but not always to God because non-religious people use it too.
"Praise the Lord"- same as above^
"Lord have mercy"- I'm still not really sure what it means, haha.
"Bless you"- used when someone sneezes
All of these terms can be used in a religious sense, but I mostly hear them used in a non-religious way and I live in a very religious part of the country
I don't think holy cow is outdated, I still hear people say it, and/or things similar to it (holy moly, holy _____)
Saying "damn it" is just a sort of way of expressing frustration. For example, if you hit your thumb with a hammer by accident, you might say "damn it!" However, it has no real deep meaning.
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