A question for native speakers: What "holy X" expressions do you think are the most popular, in your experience?

holy water :)

Geez, man...

I've never heard "Holy water!" used as an exclamation before. Unfortunately, Ooneykcall, "Holy sh*t!" is by far in my opinion the most common of the "Holy X" expressions followed, I'd think, by "Holy smokes!".

I wouldn't call it "unfortunate" — by using such expressions people become desensitivized to the mention of perfectly natural and healthy things to do like defecating and procreating, which is good, I say. :>

Anyway — are the likes of "holy guacamole" and "holy mackerel" (btw, apparently usually spelled with two 'e's?) as rare/region-specific as I am led to believe by some dictionaries?

"Sh*t" has no relationship to procreation though it does relate to defecation. Basically, I think "sh*t" is very metaphorical. When you defecate you are getting rid of your bodies "waste". Using "sh*t" to refer to something most people see is an insensitive way to call it "useless" or "unimportant" in it's most general usage. I used "unfortunate" because there are some people who choose to limit their vocabulary to using words that "shock".

You asked if the likes of "holy guacamole" and "holy mackerel" are spelled with two 'e's. What do you mean by that? (holey)??

Read my second passage again, please, and pay attention to the parentheses. What's inside them refers to 'mackerel' (spelled 'mackeral' in your sentence, hence the parenthetical question). :> What's outside them is a different question altogether.

Limited vocabulary isn't nice, I agree, yet it's their choice, apparently. We can but disapprove intently— I suppose that's why you seem to refuse to spell the word out? :D

If there's one thing I learned, language has power Oooneykcall. There's an individual's personal experience, common opinion, and other nuances to consider when choosing vocabulary. Of course, I'm not going to throw words around in every way I please especially words considered by the general population to be "politically incorrect". Obviously such a goal is not completely feasible, but I do my best to not offend people.

You're right! "Mackerel" is generally considered the correct spelling and I didn't realize I typed an "a" instead of an "e"! My eyes just glanced right over it! I'll change it now.

Language has power, indeed, and that is precisely why I strive to use it the way I see fit, rather than allowing all sorts of random people I don't know, that contribute to the 'common opinion', force influence over my thinking. Censoring your language means censoring your thoughts, and I'm not going to do that without a good reason, and random people disliking what I say isn't good reason at all. :P
Social matters work best with compromise rather than stubbornness, of course, and for that reason I am stubborn not to submit to people who would stubbornly insist that I should do so, rather than try to negotiate a way for all parties to accommodate each other.

(It seems that claiming offence is, in fact, a common way to gain the upper hand, making one's feelings matter, but not the feelings of the person who one claims to have offended them.)

Anyway... the question seems to have gone over your head, so I suppose it would do well to repeat it: are the likes of "holy guacamole" and "holy mackerel" as rare/region-specific as I am led to believe by some dictionaries?

We certainly have different opinions Ooneykcall. I think changing language to better meet your needs and goals is not "censoring". I'm not the kind of person to tell a person to deal-with-it. I may not like someone or agree with them but that's besides the point since the better people as a whole can work together the more each individual can benefit. I don't need to use words that generally "shock" people to express how I feel. I aim to communicate with language not simply force my own self-expression and usage of it upon the world. Why? Because I am part of a bigger picture.

You're question didn't go over my head. I'm curious. Did you mean to say by using that expression that 'I failed to understand the question'? I've heard "holy guacamole" used quite often. My family especially uses this expression and I used it a lot as a child. Though I've heard "holy guacamole" used often and colloquially, "holy mackerel" tends to be more of a story/movie term usually found in character dialogues. "Holy mackerel" I believe, is also an older expression. If I heard someone in public say, "holy guacamole" and "holy mackerel" I wouldn't think much of it. It certainly doesn't sound unnatural though I think it sounds just a little "cheesy".

By 'the question going over your head', I meant that you didn't notice it. I've seen the expression used that way. I wouldn't know if that meaning was dominant or occasional, obviously. I have to base my understanding of language on the way I see it used, mostly in writing, since obviously I get to read much more than listen :>

Thanks for the answer, good to know it was quite close to what I had expected (since that means my language intuition worked well here)~

Oh! :D "Holy cow!" I completed overlooked that one! :) Thanks CK! I'd have to agree that "Holy cow!" ranks #1 in the combined categories of least offensive "Holy ~" phrase and most used in general everyday conversation. Though, thinking more about this now, I've probably heard "Holy crap!" used more than "Holy cow!" altogether. Indeed, it's the only "Holy ~" phrase that I naturally blurt out occasionally.

Ooneykcall, when something "goes over your head", the primary definition is that of being incapable of understanding something. This expression is used often as a fancy way of telling someone that they are "incompetent" at a certain task. This is the only way I've seen this particular expression used before, but in order to be more certain, I also double-checked the meaning in a few online dictionaries.