Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
holus-bolus [hoh-luh s-boh-luh s] ExamplesWord Origin adverb
- all at once; altogether.
Origin of holus-bolus 1840–50; mock-Latin rhyming compound based on phrase whole bolus. See whole, bolus Examples from the Web for holus-bolus Historical Examples of holus-bolus
They had just killed the animal, and were roasting it whole, holus-bolus, unskinned and undressed.
David W Carnegie
Holus-bolus, ‘sicut examen apum,’ ye decamp at the word of a single foe!
Maurus Jkai
There was a first-class carr’ge door opin right forninst me, an’ into that the gyard crams me holus-bolus.
Arthur Morrison
British Dictionary definitions for holus-bolus holus-bolus adverb
- informal all at once
Word Origin for holus-bolus C19: pseudo-Latin based on whole bolus; see bolus