Green’s Dictionary of Slang

used with suitable n. to create a mild oath.

1869		‘Mark Twain’ Innocents Abroad 52: The suffering Moses! There ain’t money enough in the ship to pay that bill!
1884		Whitstable Times (Kent) 19 July 2/3: ‘Ugh-wow! Suffering Moses,’ he grunted.
1890		‘Morris the Mohel’ ‘Houndsditch Day by Day’ Sporting Times 15 Feb. 2/2: Sufferin’ Lazarus! he’d nefer thought o’ that.
1895		Sporting Times 9 Nov. 6/1: If beefsteak and onions, toasted cheese, beer and port, won’t bring it [i.e. gout] out, nothing will. And holy suffering mackerel! it has!
1895		Dly Public Ledger (Maysville, KY) 8 Apr. 1/2: Holy G! Murder in Irish! Suffering Henry! Great Kilkenny cats!
1897		Kipling Captains Courageous 175: ‘Sufferin’ Christianity!’ sez Counahan.
1897		O. Wister Lin McLean 147: ‘Suffering Moses!’ remarked his Excellency.
1901		Marvel XV:373 Jan. 3: Sufferin’ snakes, yaas!
1902		Laurens Advertiser (SC) 15 Jan. 4/2: Sufferin’ Jimmy! what was that?
1905		J. London ‘All Gold Canyon’ Complete Short Stories (1993) II 1029: ‘Sufferin’ Sardanopolis!’ he cried. ‘Lumps an’ chunks of it!’.
1906		‘Hugh McHugh’ Skidoo! 68: Suffering crumpets, John!
1906		Gadfly (Adelaide) 11 Apr. 6/2: ‘Please, sir, could yer gimme sixpence; me ’ouse ’as been burnt down?’ [...] ‘Vat!! Sufferin’ fire-reels! Vat yer vant another thix pence for?’.
1907		B. Fisher A. Mutt in Blackbeard Compilation (1977) 5: Suffering mackerel!! Five minutes to one. I shall miss my boat.
1907		S.E. White Arizona Nights 191: But, suffering cats! think how that fellow sized us up for a lot of pattern-made fools.
1912		Van Loan ‘The Phantom League’ in Ten-Thousand-Dollar Arm 180: ‘Suffering snakes!’ grunted the scout.
1912		R. Service ‘The Baldness of Chewed-Ear’ in Rhymes of a Rolling Stone 138: A thousand dollars! Sufferin’ Caesar!
1913		Bulletin (San Francisco) 5 Sept. 10/5–6: Suffering pickles, what a game! Ducks, 10; Oaks, 0 .
1914		Boston Globe (MA) 8 Mar. 2/2: ‘Why, suffering catfish! ’twould take all the tugboats [...] to tow an iceberg, and then some’.
1915		Ottowa Guardian (KS) 29 Oct. 1/1: If a boy or bum on the street wishes to shout something mean he yells ‘Suffering Cat!’.
1915		S.F. Chron. 7 Feb. 58/5: ‘Suffering crumpets! Couldn’t he have guessed?’.
1917		Boy’s Own Paper XL 3 150: Six o’clock! Sufferin’ cats!
1917		Electrical Experimenter July 181/3: Suffering cats!! My shoes became full of carpet tacks and I leapt so high that me head nearly hit the ceiling.
1917		Van Loan ‘Eliphaz, Late Fairfax’ in Old Man Curry 155: ‘Suffering mackerel!’ ejaculated the Kid.
1919		C. Drew ‘The Smokeroom’ in Referee (Sydney) 17 Dec. 16/6: ‘Suffering snakes!’ he said to the undertaker, who was sitting near him, ‘where am I?’.
1920		H.C. Witwer Kid Scanlon 35: Well, sufferin’ cats!
1921		O.R. Cohen Midnight 11: ‘Sufferin’ wildcats!’ breathed Leverage. ‘The suit-case ain’t the woman’s at all!’.
1922		(con. late 19C) V. Hemphill Down the Mother Lode 84: Sufferin’ stars, he’s only a little scared cinnamon.
1924		‘Digit’ Confessions of a Twentieth Century Hobo 62: A noise made me look up. Great suffering doughnuts! [Ibid.] 88: Suffering mike! Do you expect to ride on a gondolier for three or four hours and not get dirty? [Ibid.] 141: Suffering snakes! Bobbed hair, dirty overalls, big boots, pipes, natural poses, coaldust and hoboing trips.
1924		Buffalo Times (NY) 3 Apr. 18/3: Out of a job and 600 wives on his hands! Suffering crumpets.
1924		H.L. Wilson Professor How Could You! 297: ‘Well, great suffering guns!’ he exclaimed in his uncouth way.
1928		Honolulu Star Bulletin (HI) 19 Sept. 20/3: Thorns and vinegar! Suffering catfish!
1929		S. Rohmer Day the World Ended 51: ‘Suffering Moses!’ Lonergan groaned.
1932		J. Dixon Free To Love 8: ‘Suffering Moses,’ he muttered.
1932		Townsville Daily Bull. 8 July 5/3: [I] starts to rise when — sufferin’ bandicoots, before I could say Bunamagoo I shoots into the air on a column of water [...] sufferin’ dingbats, mates, you mightn’t believe me, but ...
1934		O. Strange Sudden 127: ‘Sufferin’ snakes!’ he muttered.
1939		V. Davis Gentlemen of the Broad Arrows 190: Suffering cats, Billy! [...] Have you been through a mangle?
1940		S. Lister Mistral Hotel (1951) 50: Sufferin’ catfish! How Herman did love his liquor!
1940		R.L. Bellem ‘Death’s Passport’ in Goodstone Pulps (1970) 113/2: Suffering tripes!
1943		‘Henry Green’ Caught (2001) 195: ‘Suffering Jesus,’ was all Shiner said.
1943		J. Binning Target Area 31: ‘Suffering cactus,’ said Rodgers.
1943		Vancouver Sun (BC) 7 May 6/3: ‘Holy suffering catfish. Was I really in a spot like that?’.
1945		F. Freleng ‘Life with Feathers’ 24 Mar. [comic strip] Sufferin’ succotash!
1945		Manchester Eve. News 27 June 4/2: ‘Suffering Snakes!’ says Husband.
1948		C. Day Lewis Otterbury Incident 33: Cor suffering cats, you don’t want that, do you?
1951		(con. 1941) E. Lambert Twenty Thousand Thieves 183: Syria! Garrison duty! [...] Oh, suffering Christ!
1951		S. Lewis World So Wide 16: A – a year? Great good suffering catfish!
1955		J.P. Donleavy Ginger Man (1958) 135: Or they may take clubs to me. Suffering shit.
1957		G. Kersh Fowlers End (2001) 104: Gawd suffering blimey, Mr. Laverock!
1957		‘Nino Culotta’ They’re a Weird Mob (1958) 164: ‘I am courting Kay.’ ‘Great suffering cats,’ said Kay. ‘What have I done to deserve this?’.
1960		(con. 1940s) D. MacCuish Do Not Go Gentle (1962) 176: Oh—hhh! Sufferin’ Christ!
1961		Record (Hackensack, NJ) 4 May 48/6: Great suffering catfish for the $149 million Mike Gorman is bellyaching about we could [etc].
1965		J.P. Carstairs Concrete Kimono 210: Cor suffering cats, he’ll know as soon as he wakes.
1966		P. Boyle At Night All Cats Are Grey 77: Suffering duck.
1968		D. O’Grady A Bottle of Sandwiches 227: Sufferin’ bloody mackerel. What a bloody shambles.
1969		B. Mason Awatea (1978) 31: Oh, Jeez. Oh, sufferin’ Jeez.
1970		C. Brown Down All the Days 47: ‘Suffering Jesus!’ exploded Father. [Ibid.] 108: ‘Sweet suffering ballocks!’ he burst out with resigned ferocity.
1975		A. Bleasdale Scully 74: Oh Sufferin’ Christ, here we go again.
1977		Stage (London) 12 May 5/5: [pic. caption] Great Suffering Snakes!
1984		W. Ammon et al. Working Lives 109: Holy suffering tomcats! What can we do?
1986		R.G. Barrett Godson 158: ‘Suffering cats!’ said Peregrine. ‘What was that?’.
1986		A. Bleasdale No Surrender 36: Suffering Jesus [...] Would y’ look at that!
1991		R. Doyle Van (1998) 419: Ah sufferin’ Jesus!
1994		Galveston Dly News (TX) 20 May 14/2: Great Caesar’s armpit! Sweet suffering catfish! Holy gamoley! [...] I have have seen the cathedrals of commerce.
1997		(con. 1950s) J. Byrne Slab Boys [film script] 56: Sufferin’ God, man, that’s the very boot that conquered Everest.