"For Pete's sake"

[Wait Wut]

My mother used to say that along with "For the love of Pete". I never asked her who Pete was. When I was little, I figured it was an old boyfriend like Paul, the one she used to talk about all the time.

That's all. Just a random thought that I had while I was standing outside having a cigarette in 20 something weather.

[hack89]

1. For Pete's Sake Origin

What is the origin of the expression "for Pete's Sake"?

It is a polite substitute for more profane expressions such as "for God's sake" or "for Christ's sake." In medieval times, it was considered sacrilegious to use the lord's name in vain, so when the need to curse arose, people would say this as an alternative.Interestingly, some report that "Mike" used to be used before "Pete." As late as the
1880s, people were saying "for the love of Mike," yet as times changed in the early 20th century, that phrase turned into "for the love of Pete." Some say that the name "Pete" is used because Peter was one of the apostles chosen by Jesus, later declared a saint by the church.Others speculate that another curse phrase, "for pity's sake" might have influenced the choice of the name "Pete" with its similar sounds employing the letter "p." Though it is hard to truly know how the exact name came into popular usage, one can easily understand the desire to be less graphic in curses, as today's language still has harsher and less harsh swears used by simply changing the end of the word or even just replacing one letter. "God-darn" is a good example. Others tend to be a bit less subtle in their replacement: "bull-crap!"Regardless of reasoning, idioms are constantly evolving as all aspects of language do. It may seem incredibly strange to people now to consider saying "for Mike's sake," though this was once commonplace. If you said that now, people would probably ask, "Who is Mike?" Most idioms must be memorized to truly understand them. Talk with someone for whom English is a second language and watch their face screw up as you start using different idioms and phrases that never once appeared in their English books!

http://www.reference.com/motif/reference/for-pete%27s-sake-origin

[Wait Wut]

3. LOL!

Love the last sentence! I'll have to try that with my DIL!

[CJCRANE]

2. There was another guy called Jesus in ancient times.

Jesus Pete. His religion didn't really catch on. Pity because he was a good guy, had some interesting ideas.

[Wait Wut]

4. He's doin' okay.

He's even got a FB page! http://www.facebook.com/jesus.pete.7

[CJCRANE]

5. Wow!

He's got 15 followers. Good to see he still has a few devout worshipers keeping the faith.

His status updates are most profound too.

Who can deny the wisdom of sayings such as:

"ugh just ugh guys"

and

"Jesus is hungover"

[Wait Wut]

6. "ugh just ugh guys"

I feel enlightened. Seriously. We have all felt that 'ugh' was the only appropriate word to describe our feelings at one time or another.

I'm getting a bumper sticker and spreading the word of Jesus Pete.

[Still Blue in PDX]

7. I thought it was Harry Morgan.

Before M*A*S*H and even before Dragnet, there was Pete and Gladys.

I still think of him when I hear that expression!

[trof]

8. Have a friend who says "Got-Dang".

OK, it's a substitute for "God damn".
Burt wouldn't a substitute for a 'blasphemy' be just as 'sinful' as the actual words?
silly