for Pete’s sake!, excl. — Green’s Dictionary of Slang

for Pete’s sake! excl.

also for Mike’s sake! for Pat’s sake! for Pete Almighty’s sake!

(orig. US) a euph. excl., usu. used to indicate one’s mild annoyance.

1903		Pedagogical Seminary 10 377/1: For Pete’s sake.
1907		C.E. Mulford Bar-20 Ch. xvii: ‘For Pete’s sake, has anymore of yu fellers been up to K. C.?’ queried the proprietor in alarm.
1915		Edwardsville Intelligencer (IL) 10 May 2/5: ‘For Pete’s sake! Much of the back porch?’ gasped Mr. Townsend.
1920		B. Cronin Timber Wolves 167: For Mike’s sake, don’t grouch now.
1925		S. Lewis Arrowsmith 322: Well, for Pete’s sake, Slim, don’t worry.
1927		(con. WW1) P. MacDonald Patrol 218: ‘Chuck that, for Mike’s sake!’.
1930		E. Glyn Flirt and Flapper 85: Flapper: For Pete’s sake!
1932		J. Dixon Free To Love 118: But for Pat’s sake, sing or something.
1947		B. Schulberg Harder They Fall (1971) 90: For Pete’s sake, Vince, what do you want to have, a murder?
1956		J. Curtis Look Long Upon a Monkey 17: What d’you suppose the Police Force is for, for Pete Almighty’s sake?
1965		A. James America’s Homosexual Underground 77: For Pete’s sake, don’t mention the name of the town, will you?
1972		P. Fordham Inside the Und. 170: For Pete’s sake to see the coast is clear.
1982		P. Theroux London Embassy 138: Product! He plays the trumpet, for Pete’s sake.
1999		Guardian Weekend 21 Aug. 53: They had Elvis, for Pete’s sake.
2006		D. Gorman Deliciously Evil 1: ‘You better brace yourself,’ the officer warned. ‘How bad could it be, for Pete’s sake?’ Baxter asked impatiently.
2012		Eve. Standard 24 Feb. 24/2: You’re running for office, for Pete’s sake — you can’t go posting nude photos of yourself, with an erection, on gay dating sites.