'For G*d's sake' vs. 'For G*d sakes'

[wuneyej]

We all know the former is correct, but I swear I hear the latter used more often. On TV, in movies, in talking with friends, I hear people say for God sakes all the time.

I realize it's not the nicest phrase to use, correctly or not, but I was wondering if the same slip-up is prevalent everywhere.

 

[chessbot]

This isn't exactly a response, but I noticed you used "G*d" in the title. Whenever the "o" is missing, I have seen it spelled "G-d".

--Chessbot

"Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent." -- Asimov, Foundation

 

[Dimandja]

Why mask the god spelling? Are we supposed to be scared of someone or... god forbid, god?

 

[BillyRayPreachersSon]

Good point - it's clearly being used as a name, and I think it's clear to all what that name was... So why hide it?

 

[MakeItSo]

Because of the third commandment:

III. Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain.

I guess, that why you hear Geeez! so often instead of Jesus...
However, I am more unscrupulous. As I am of Hungarian descent, I sometimes use their variancy of "for Heaven's sake!", which even makes use of the entire family without masking the names:
Jeszus, Maria es Joszef!


[blue]The last voice we will hear before the world explodes will be that of an expert saying:
"This is technically impossible!" - Sir Peter Ustinov[/blue]

 

[BillyRayPreachersSon]

But if, as we are led to believe (for I am an atheist), that Jesus is the son of God, and that it is only blasphemy to take the name of God in vain, why do people say "Jeeez" instead of "Jesus"?

Maybe the third commandment has an unwritten rule that extends to God's immediate family as well?

 

[CajunCenturion]

I always through that "geez", or "jeez" was a shortened forms of the expression "gee whiz".

Good Luck
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[MakeItSo]

Oh, it is? Always?
Hm.

I heard it in other uses. - But then again, I only heard it from a rather limited amount of people, namely those stationed at Ramstein airbase and surroundings. So I don't actually hear it every day and do therefore not know better.

BTW: Is "gee whiz" just some interjection without further meaning, or does itself derive from anything?


[blue]The last voice we will hear before the world explodes will be that of an expert saying:
"This is technically impossible!" - Sir Peter Ustinov[/blue]

 

[CajunCenturion]

I stand corrected. It seems that geez is a shortened form of Jesus.

I don't know the etymology of the phrase "gee whiz"

Good Luck
--------------
To get the most from your Tek-Tips experience, please read FAQ181-2886
As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein

 

[wuneyej]

Well, maybe I should have spelled out GOD. If the subject ever comes up again, I'll be sure to.

Now what about the original topic?

JP

 

[MakeItSo]

I think the "sakes" version belongs to those mentioned in this thread: thread1256-955779
February vs. Febuary...
Something "invented" by lazy/slumpy speakers...
;-)



[blue]The last voice we will hear before the world explodes will be that of an expert saying:
"This is technically impossible!" - Sir Peter Ustinov[/blue]