The Onion might disagree. (NSFW language, of course.)
“Holy shit!” can be used in good times and bad times. It is quite a flexible exclamation, and that ain’t no shit.
Yeah, “holy shit” to me is more an expression of surprise, a “can you believe it?” type of thing. I hear it much more often in the positive than negative. Like “Holy shit, the Cubs won the World Series!” Or “holy shit, I just won the lottery!” Or “holy shit,my hese are some good chicken wings.” Etc.
I was newly married and in the kitchen talking with my wife one morning before leaving for work when the phone rang. It was an old girlfriend from college who started off the conversation by saying she was bored with her accountant husband and wanted to see me again. I let loose with three (3) “Holy shits!” in a row before we ended the rest of what was a relatively short conversation.
Holy shit.
Was she hot?