# Holy Toledo

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-toledo/121404>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [July 29, 2002, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-toledo/121404 "2002-07-29T19:01:05Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![insider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bbe5ce/32.png) [@insider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/insider)\
**Post date:** [July 29, 2002, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-toledo/121404/1 "2002-07-29T19:01:05Z")

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Where did this phrase come from anyway? I looked it up on Google but it did not seem to know the origin. Any help?

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**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\
**Post date:** [July 29, 2002, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-toledo/121404/2 "2002-07-29T22:06:14Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> The expletive, “Holy Toledo,” refers to Toledo, Spain, which became an outstanding Christian cultural center in 1085.

from [www.wordorigins.org](http://www.wordorigins.org). Maybe, but it might just be a catchy phrase that somebody invented because they liked the sound of it.

More at Google: “Holy Toledo”+origin.