How Many Times Does Ana Really Say "Holy Cow"?

When it comes to Fifty Shades of Grey, there are some watchwords that every person who has ever read the novel can expect to hear a lot. "Miss Steele" is a given, since that's how Christian chooses to refer to his lady love. "Inner goddess" is also a given, since that's how Ana chooses to refer to her awakening sexual being. However, it seems like Ana's most popular catchphrase is "Holy cow," which she exclaims for everything from noticing how young Christian is for a CEO to musing on how on fleek his penis is. With only eight days to go before the Fifty Shades of Grey film is released into theaters, I took it upon myself to be the one to solve this mystery. Does Ana really say "holy cow" a lot in the books?

Actually, no. In the entire novel, Ana only says "holy cow" a total of 19 times. Yes, that's right. Only 19 times in the entire 514 page novel. Why, then, do people love to bring that up as a popular phrase from the book as if she does it as often as she bites her lip or talks about her inner goddess? Well, the thing is, it's not the amount of times that Ana says it (which is still a lot, considering what an unusual and childish phrase it is). It's more the situations in which she decides to break that phrase out.

For some reason, Ana very noticeably likes to say "holy cow" in the middle of sexual encounters with Christian — from the way his eyes darken as he talks to her about rope in the hardware store to when they're having sex and she's think about how amazing everything from his kisses to his touch to his, ahem, member is. I mean, it's just bizarre to hear a grown woman exclaiming "holy cow" when she's orgasming, you know? That's probably why the phrase has taken on a life of its own as one of the most repeated parts of the book.

It also doesn't help that the phrase wasn't a particularly popular one among the target audience of the book before it came out. I mean, by the time you're in your college years or have children of your own, "holy cow" isn't going to be the first phrase you reach for when you're shocked or angry or confused or in the throes of passion. I'm guessing that this one is just an Ana quirk, a quirk that's repeated at least nineteen times in Fifty Shades of Grey alone. Holy cow, you guys.

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