Green’s Dictionary of Slang

a general excl. of frustration, annoyance, surprise, affirmation.

1948		H. McCoy Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye in Four Novels (1983) 305: Son-of-a-bitch, this is for me, I thought.
1953		J. Thompson Criminal (1993) 75: ‘S-- of a b---h!’ he said.
1957		Kerouac On The Road (1972) 276: ‘Son-of-a-bitch!’ yelled Stan. ‘Hot damn!’.
1967		(con. 1920s) J. Thompson South of Heaven (1994) 143: ‘Sonofabitch,’ he drawled, ‘Shit and three are nine.’.
1968		N. Heard Howard Street 117: Som’bitch! Man, gimme ’notha pair of dice.
1972		(con. 1953) R. Kahn Boys of Summer 131: ‘When are you through tonight?’ Williams said. ‘Two o’clock’ ‘Son of a buck. And we got a curfew’ [ibid] 159: ‘Whoop,’ cried Campanella, wrapping an arm around my chest. [...] ‘We’ll take those Yankee bastards,’ Robinson shouted. ‘Son of a buck,’ Carl Erskine said, with shining eyes.
1978		R. Price Ladies’ Man (1985) 156: ‘Oh What a Night’ by the Dells. Son of a bitch. I hadn’t heard that in a decade. What a dynamite jam.
1981		M. Baker Nam (1982) 29: ‘Where’s your rifles?’ ‘We haven’t been given any yet.’ ‘Oh, son of a bitch, that’s tight.’.
1989		M. Amis London Fields 248: ‘Sonofabitch!’ ‘What?’ The car contained no petrol.
1990		(con. c.1970) G. Hasford Phantom Blooper 37: ‘R.P.G.,’ I say – rocket-propelled grenade. Beaucoup pucker factor. ‘Son of a bitch!’.
2000		G.V. Higgins At End of Day (2001) 172: Son of a bitch [...] that really is great news.
2006		G. Iles Turning Angel 191: ‘Son of a bitch!’ Drew explodes, slapping the ledge.