2. for the love of Pete or Mike or God . An exclamation of surprise, exasperation, or some similar feeling, as in
For the love of Pete, give me the money! James Joyce used this idiom in
Ulysses (1922): "For the love of Mike listen to him."
Pete and
Mike are euphemisms for God. [Early 1900s] Also see
for the sake of, def. 3.