# For Pete's Sake! **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 22, 2006, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-petes-sake/341156 "2006-01-22T21:42:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bubastis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d07c76/32.png) [@bubastis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bubastis)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2006, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-petes-sake/341156/1 "2006-01-22T21:42:29Z")
Pete who? What’s the origin of this exclamation? ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2006, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-petes-sake/341156/2 "2006-01-22T22:38:53Z")
St. Peter. It’s a euphemism for “For God’s sake” from a time when it was considered blasphemous to use God’s name that way. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2006, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-petes-sake/341156/3 "2006-01-22T23:33:24Z")
The euphemism only arises around the 1890-1910 period. It could be “for the love of mike” “for the love of Pete” or “for Pete’s sake.” ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-petes-sake/341156/4 "2006-01-23T01:49:56Z")
I thought the expression was originally “For pity’s sake.” No? ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-petes-sake/341156/5 "2006-01-23T02:41:37Z")
> [@SpoilerVirgin](#): > > St. Peter. It’s a euphemism for “For God’s sake” from a time when it was considered blasphemous to use God’s name that way. Isn’t Peter also the guy that checks people in at the “Pearly Gates of Heaven”. You know the guy who you see on the cartoons with the huge book of people’s names in them and the long line of recently deceased people standing in front of him? The premise I always got is when somebody says that to you they want you to stop becuase they either a.) want you to stop something that could quite posibly get you killed (even if just metephoricaly) thus causing a harder work load on good ol’ saint Pete _or_ b.) Stop doing whatever sinful act it is you are doing so saint Pete doesn’t have to send you to hell. This is what my “Mommy” told me anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-petes-sake/341156/6 "2006-01-23T03:10:52Z")
> [@](#): > > Isn’t Peter also the guy that checks people in at the “Pearly Gates of Heaven”. Yes. This comes from a passage in the Gospels where Jesus says to Peter that he gives him the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-petes-sake/341156/7 "2006-01-23T05:08:41Z")
> [@spoke-](#): > > I thought the expression was originally “For pity’s sake.” No? Great catch on your part! The expression “For pity’s sake” is used frequently in print in the 1840-60 period. And no one seems to think anything about it. ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-petes-sake/341156/8 "2006-01-23T05:23:25Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > Great catch on your part! The expression “For pity’s sake” is used frequently in print in the 1840-60 period. And no one seems to think anything about it. Was there some variant in common usage prior to 1840? ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-petes-sake/341156/9 "2006-01-23T05:29:50Z")
> [@danceswithcats](#): > > Was there some variant in common usage prior to 1840? Probably so, but no need. The OED shows this one back to the 1500’s. My newspaper database just doesn’t reach that far back. 🙂 But it would be interesting to know what parallel euphemisms were about.