suffering Moses
intjUK /ˌsʌf(ə)ɹɪŋ ˈməʊzɪz/ · US /ˌsʌf(ə)ɹɪŋ ˈmoʊzəs/
Etymology From suffering (adjective) + Moses, possibly referring to the various difficulties endured by the Hebrew prophet Moses while the Israelites wandered in the desert for 40 years before entering the Promised Land, related in the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, and Joshua of the Bible.
- "'Total, twenty-one thousand seven hundred reis! The suffering Moses!—there ain't money enough in the ship to pay that bill! Go—leave me to my misery, boys, I am a ruined community.1869, Mark Twain [pseudonym; Samuel Langhorne Clemens], chapter V, in The Innocents Abroad, or The New Pilgrims’ Progress; […], Hartford, Conn.: American Publishing Company. […], →OCLC, page 52:
- A whiff of smoke drifted back over my shoulder, and— / "The suffering Moses!" / "Whew!" / "By George, who opened that graveyard?"1870 October, “Curious Relic for Sale”, in The Galaxy. […], volume X, number 4, New York, N.Y.: Sheldon & Company, […], →OCLC, page 573, column 2:
2 more examples
- But if I lay my hands on Scannel—if we catch him in the corner—holy, suffering Moses, but I'll make him squeal!a. 1903 (date written), Frank Norris, chapter IX, in The Pit: A Story of Chicago (The Epic of the Wheat; 2), New York, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Co., published February 1903, →OCLC, page 320:
- "Suffering Moses!" Lonergan groaned. "How ever did you pull off the Brazil contract without brains!"1929, Sax Rohmer [pseudonym; Arthur Henry Ward], “Mr. John Lonergan”, in The Day the World Ended, Orient edition, New York, N.Y.: P[eter] F[enelon] Collier & Son Company, by special arrangement with Doubleday, Doran & Company, published 1930, →OCLC, section 1, page 65: