We all know that "Mind your P's & Q's" means mind your manners, but where did the "P" and "Q" come from?

Answer 1

To be very careful and/or to behave correctly. It is tied to the fact that the lowercase letters "p" and "q" mirror each other. This is a term from typesetters in the printing industry. In the days of lead type, letters were set individually into a page, and they were placed one by one, upside down. They were pulled from a typecase, in which each letter had a designated space to reside.

Problems came when pages were being taken apart and letters put away. If someone was in a hurry or was not paying attention to what he was doing, he could end up with p's and q's in the wrong slots in the typecase, which he wouldn't notice until the next time he was putting together a page, when he would unknowingly pick out the wrong letter. (This could also happen with b's and d's, but as they are more common than q's, typesetters were more accustomed to finding them, and they were mixed up less often.) Hence, pay attention to what you're doing now, so that you don't give yourself problems later on.

Alternatively, in England this phrase is also associated with "p'ease" and "'k you" baby talk for 'Please' and 'Thank you', hence "Mind your P's and Q's" is sometimes used to mean "Remember to say 'Please' and 'Thank you.'"

Another less widely accepted origin of this phrase purports to have originated in England where, when patrons at a bar were becoming unruly, the bartender would remind them to, "Mind your pints and quarts." This has been shortened to the phrase, "Mind your P's and Q's."

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Answer 2

To be very careful and/or to behave correctly. It is tied to the fact that the lowercase letters "p" and "q" mirror each other. This is a term from typesetters in the printing industry. In the days of lead type, letters were set individually into a page, and they were placed one by one, upside down. They were pulled from a typecase, in which each letter had a designated space to reside. Problems came when pages were being taken apart and letters put away. If someone was in a hurry or was not paying attention to what he was doing, he could end up with p's and q's in the wrong slots in the typecase, which he wouldn't notice until the next time he was putting together a page, when he would unknowingly pick out the wrong letter. (This could also happen with b's and d's, but as they are more common than q's, typesetters were more accustomed to finding them, and they were mixed up less often.) Hence, pay attention to what you're doing now, so that you don't give yourself problems later on. Alternatively, in England this phrase is also associated with "p'ease" and "'k you" baby talk for 'Please' and 'Thank you', hence "Mind your P's and Q's" is sometimes used to mean "Remember to say 'Please' and 'Thank you.'" Another less widely accepted origin of this phrase purports to have originated in England where, when patrons at a bar were becoming unruly, the bartender would remind them to, "Mind your pints and quarts." This has been shortened to the phrase, "Mind your P's and Q's."

Answer 3

Meaning

Be on your best behaviour and be careful of your language.

Origin

There are various proposed explanations of this. Amongst the most plausible are the notion that ale used to be ordered in either pints or quarts and you needed to be careful which you were given. The fact that typesetters needed to be careful when setting type because the 'p's and 'q's looked similar seems a better explanation. A third, from Melissa Shenker, is 'mind your pleases and thankyous'. This has the merit of being closer to the meaning of the phrase although the thankyous = thank 'q's stretches the imagination somewhat.

Answer 4

I have always heard that the Ps and Qs had to do with the amount of beer at a Pub. You were supposed to watch to see how much the bartender was charging you- if you were a pain in the a** the bartender may just charge you for a quart when you bought a pint!

Answer 5

A barkeeper would track patrons' drinking totals by marking "P" for pints and "Q" for quarts. Both the barkeeper and the drinker would want to keep careful track of those Ps and Qs so they knew what the final bill would be. Also, the drinker might want to pay attention to how much he drank so as to keep his own behavior under control.

Answer 6

Well, I can see a lot of people got the same e-mail I did that gave an explanation for this :-) If you ever verify it or find out a different answer is correct, come back and post because we'd all like to know.

Answer 7

From Olde England pubs -- mind your pints and quarts.
FYI- the old mugs used in the taverns had a whistle built into the handle used to summon the barmaid when you needed a refill, hence the saying "wet your whistle".

Answer 8

Yes, one theory is the pints and quarts. In olden days public houses would write P for pints and Q for quarts, and you had to mind your P's & q's when reckoning came.
Another one is for children learning the alphabet, children at first often mistook p & q, so the teacher often said, mind your p & q also in printing apprentices were often reminded to mind the p's & q's

Answer 9

1) this evolved from the shape of the letters themselves - to watch your words & behaviour. when children are learning to write, notice how the pq are similar - they were often confused - children were told to watch their p's & q's.

2) Pints & Quarts - innkeepers would keep a tally on the board and patron's woud watch their p's & q's to make sure they weren't over charged.

3) in the time of Louis XIV men wore huge wigs. when men bowed they had challenges with the wig not slipping, twisting or falling off completely. dancing masters would mind their students mind their feet & wigs. in french feet (pieds) and wigs (queues).

so.... take your pick!

Answer 10

It came from Great Britain - so people in pubs would "mind their pints and quarts"