Green’s Dictionary of Slang

a general excl. of annoyance, surprise etc.

1927		T. Thursday ‘West Goes South’ in Everybody’s Oct. 🌐 ‘For cripes sake, kid,’ yelps Sweeney, ‘come to the point!’.
1930		J.P. McEvoy Hollywood Girl 187: paul: Where d’you want the apples, Mr. Nebbick? director: Well for cripes – on the tree, sapadillo.
1937		J. Tully Bruiser 253: A chance – for cripes sake – he’d have a chance with a cyclone.
1949		F. Brown Dead Ringer 85: For cripes’ sake kid, what’s eating you?
1957		(con. 1943) A. Myrer Big War 9: You ought to be our lieutenant. Ambience, for cripe sake [...] Then you could stand out in front of us there and use some of that gay old education. Give us the old pooperoo. [Ibid.] 342: Give the poor sods a bleeding drink, for creep sake.
1962		P. Crump Burn, Killer, Burn! 46: For cripe’s sake! I only asked you a friggin’ question.
1977		J. Doughty Gold in Blood 175: ‘Yeah, for cripe’s sake, let it rain,’ the drunken congregation chorused.
1986		S. King It (1987) 756: This guy’s a pharmacist, not a doctor, for cripe’s sake.
1996		H. Roth From Bondage 384: ‘Just before we left El Paso. I bought three packages.’ ‘Creeps’ sake. Ever providential.’ He sighed admiringly.
2000		C. Cook Robbers (2001) 11: For cripes sake, he moaned, this ice ain’t doing it.