p's and q's mean? Like when someone says, "Mind your p's and q's." I really don't get it.
2006-06-22 14:24:26 · 7 answers · asked by ThatshowIroll! 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
Means to learn one's letters. Dates back to the late 18th century. Some people think it refers to the hard time children had learning to distinguish between the letters p and q, since they are mirror images of one another.
OR
P’s n Q’s: it actually means, Mind your Pints and Quarts. In Pubs when people would start arguing, the bartenders would tell them to mind their own drinks... being pints n quarts!
I always thought that Mind your P's and Q's meant to behave appropriately. Also I thought it meant that if you don't mind your P's and Q's You are irresponsible Because if P's and Q's were referred to as Penny's and Quarters and nobody minded or paid attention to them and you lost them then you would have lost your Pennies and Quarters, or P's and Q's.
The most convincing explanation of this idiom I've heard is that it comes
from the early days of printing, when movable type was positioned for
printing. This process was done upside-down - a technique not impossible to
get used to after some time. However, the lowercase letters p and q were
hard to distinguish, since in most designs they were mirror images of each
other. Hence" mind your P's and Q's!", a phrase I was told was shouted at
young children working in these print shops.
I am under the impression that the saying minding your p's and q's, does
mean mind your pints and quarts. Bartenders would use tally marks i.e. 4
pints equal a quart, if the customer got out of line, the bartender would
use the phrase, mind your p's and q's. I have also heard the customer would
use it when they thought they were being over charged..
2006-06-22 14:29:34 · answer #1 · answered by johnathan_constatine 1 · 3⤊ 1⤋
When someone says mind your p's and q's they are telling you to be on your best behavior. I'm not sure why this phrase is used but that's what it means.
2006-06-22 21:30:17 · answer #2 · answered by Renna 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Mind the small & big aspects of everything.Not to miss anything which may cause you trouble.Take care to do & analyse all matters as behaviour,slips of the tongue,facts,figures,etc., before you start doing something.
2006-06-22 21:30:19 · answer #3 · answered by einsteinilango 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it means pay attention to details - like which side of the circle the line is on on a p versus on a q
2006-06-22 21:30:52 · answer #4 · answered by Gabrielle 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It means pay attention to the order in which you do things, do it right. If you don't, your p's will look like q's and your q's will look like p's.
2006-06-22 21:30:09 · answer #5 · answered by Just Gone 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think that means mind your manners.
2006-06-22 21:27:52 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
it means dont get mixed up and pay attention
2006-06-22 21:28:06 · answer #7 · answered by debee gee 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋