Today's AW-WAD is:

holus-bolus (HO-luhs BO-luhs) adverb

All at once.

[Apparently a reduplication of bolus (lump), or a rhyming compound based on the phrase whole bolus.]


These words that start off looking "holy" have a lot of big expectations to live up to, don't you think? I mean you wouldn't expect "holus-bolus" to mean part of the "whole thing". No, it's got to be "the whole thing". And it can't be later, say, a week from next Tuesday. No, it has to be now. It has to be the "whole thing now".

That's the whole thing about "holus bolus".

Have you ever seen a kid swallow up a whole bowl of oatmeal raisin cookies fresh out of the oven? That's "wholus bowlus"! Now, you know what I mean.