for heaven's sake
A mild oath of surprise, exasperation, annoyance, frustration, or anger. For heaven's sake! I haven't seen you in years! Would you let me finish my story, for heaven's sake? Oh for heaven's sake, I just had the car fixed and now you've put a dent in it!
for mercy's sake
A mild oath of surprise, exasperation, annoyance, frustration, or anger. For mercy's sake! I haven't seen you in years! Would you let me finish my story, for mercy's sake? Oh for mercy's sake, I just had the car fixed and now you've put a dent in it!
for (one's) (own) sake
Out of regard or respect for someone or oneself; for the benefit, advantage, or good of oneself or another person. For my own sake, I'm going to take a few extra days off at Christmas to spend with my family. For Jonathan's sake, we need to be sure to find a restaurant that is sensitive to peanut allergies.
for pity's sake
A mild oath of surprise, exasperation, annoyance, frustration, or anger. For pity's sake! I haven't seen you in years! Would you let me finish my story, for pity's sake? Oh for pity's sake, I just had the car fixed and now you've put a dent in it!
for the sake of (someone)
Out of regard or respect for someone or something; for the benefit, advantage, or purpose of something or somebody. For the sake of those who have already read the chapter, I won't go into it in too much detail here today. For the sake of decency, please stop using such profane language in church!
goodness gracious
A mild exclamation of surprise, alarm, dismay, annoyance, or exasperation. Goodness gracious, look at the time! How is it nearly midnight already? Goodness gracious, Bill, would it kill you to take out the trash once in a while? Goodness gracious, that cyclist nearly hit me!
for fuck's sake
rude slang An expression of annoyance or frustration at what someone is doing or at a situation that is unfolding. Oh, for fuck's sake, Chris—you know I wasn't trying to hurt you, so stop acting like a wounded puppy. Stop playing your music so loud, for fuck's sake!
arguing for the sake of arguing
Continuing a disagreement solely out of obstinance. We have a potential compromise, so he's just arguing for the sake of arguing now.
arguing for the sake of arguing
and arguing for the sake of argumentarguing simply to be difficult or contrary. You are just arguing for the sake ofarguing. You don't even know what the issue is. He is annoying, because he is always arguing for the sake of argument.
for one's (own) sake
for one's good or benefit; in honor of someone. I have to earn a living for my family's sake. I did it for my mother's sake.
For Pete's sake!
and For pity's sake!; For the love of Mike!; For goodness sake!; For gosh sake!; For heaven('s) sake!a mild exclamation of surprise or shock. For Pete's sake! How've ya been? For pity's sake! Ask the man in out of the cold!
for someone (or something's) sake
and for the sake of someone or somethingfor the purpose or benefit of someone or something; to satisfy the demands of someone or something. I made a meatless dinner for John's sake; he's a vegetarian. The teacher repeated the assignment for the sake of the slower students.
Land(s) sakes (alive)!
and Sakes alive!Rur. My goodness! (A mild oath.) Lands sakes! I sure am glad to get home! Sakes alive! Can't you even set the table without making a fuss?
for Christ's sake
(rude) also for Christ sakes I am surprised or annoyed by this
for God's sake For Christ's sake, Julie, what are you doing here? This dress makes me look like a little old lady, for Christ's sake. It's two in the morning, for Christ sakes! Why are you calling me now? Usage notes: used for emphasis
Etymology: based on the literal meaning of for Christ's sake ( in the name of or for Christ)
for God's sake
(rude) also for God's sakes I am surprised or annoyed by this
for Christ's sake For God's sake, Eleanor, what happened to your hair? It's time we started worrying about educating our children, for God's sake. At three-thirty in the morning, for God's sake, my dog decided to have her puppies. Usage notes: used for emphasis
Etymology: based on the literal meaning of for God's sake (in the name of or for God)
for goodness' sake
(spoken) also for goodness sakes I am surprised or annoyed by this
for Pete's sake For goodness' sake, Harry, what are you doing at this time of night? Well, for goodness sakes, why didn't you tell me that earlier so I could have changed my plans? Usage notes: used for emphasis and often used instead of the more offensive idioms for God's sake and for Christ's sake
for Pete's sake
(spoken) I am annoyed or surprised by this
for goodness' sake She has a huge salary and gets a bonus, too - how much money does she need, for Pete's sake? Usage notes: used for emphasis and often used instead of the more offensive idioms for God's sake and for Christ's sake
for old times' sake
as a way of remembering something pleasant from the past I thought we'd take the train, just for old times' sake.
for something's own sake
because something is worth doing Arnold is dedicated to writing for its own sake, and doesn't worry about whether he can sell what he writes.
for the sake of argument
in order to consider the possibility Assume, for the sake of argument, that what she says is true.
for God's sake
for Pete's sake
for the sake of
1. Also for one's sake. Out of consideration or regard for a person or thing; for someone's or something's advantage or good. For example, For Jill's sake we did not serve meat, or We have to stop fighting for the sake of family unity. [Early 1200s]
2. For the purpose or motive of, as in You like to quarrel only for the sake of an argument. [Early 1200s]
3. for God's sake. Also
for goodness or heaven's or Pete's or pity's sake . An exclamation showing surprise, impatience, anger, or some other emotion, depending on the context. For example,
For God's sake, I didn't expect to see you here, or
Hurry up, for goodness sake, or
For heaven's sake, how can you say such a mean thing? or
For pity's sake, finish your dinner. The variants are euphemisms for God. [c. 1300] For a synonym, see
for the love of, def. 2.
goodness gracious
Also, good gracious; gracious sakes. Exclamation of surprise, dismay, or alarm, as in Goodness gracious! You've forgotten your ticket. Both goodness and gracious originally alluded to the good (or grace) of God, but these colloquial expressions, which date from the 1700s, are not considered either vulgar or blasphemous.
heavenly days
An exclamation similar to
for heaven's sake. See under
for one's sake, def. 3.