"Sakes alive!" is an old-fashioned Minced oath, popular in the 1930s through 1950s and recorded as early as the 1860s.[1] It derives from "Lord's sakes (alive)", equivalent to today's “my goodness”, “good Lord”, “oh my God” or "for God's sake".
Variants include "snakes alive!" and "saints alive!".[2]
References
edit- ^ Bartlett, John Russell (1860). Dictionary of Americanisms: A Glossary of Words and Phrases Usually Regarded as Peculiar to the United States. Little, Brown.
- ^ Jones, Paul Anthony (16 October 2014). Jedburgh Justice and Kentish Fire: The Origins of English in Ten Phrases and Expressions. Little, Brown Book Group. ISBN 978-1-4721-1622-2.
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