2006-11-06 12:05:17 · 5 answers · asked by james t 1 in Education & Reference ➔ Quotations
Grapelady is 100% correct !!! It is an old printers saying , as the most common mistake was the misplacement of the p's and q's as they were placed backwards in the press , and we as humans are prone to error !!! We use this saying still these days as a reminder that we are all imperfect and to keep that in mind before we criticize others for common mistakes , that we all in fact make !!!
2006-11-06 12:19:18 · answer #1 · answered by budlowsbro420 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Pints and Quarts is the correct answer, not the other theory. We had a discussion about this, and other quotes in my Creative Writing class.
2006-11-07 01:30:47 · answer #2 · answered by Ophelia 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts... So in old England,
when customers got unruly, the bartender would yell at them "Mind your
pints and quarts, and settle down."
It's where we get the phrase "mind your P's and Q's"
2006-11-06 12:30:22 · answer #3 · answered by old_woman_84 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
back when they had old printing presses and the letters had to filled in with little letter blocks... the p and the q were easily mixed up, and since you had to put all the words together backwards so they would appear correctly once printed.. it was easy to get them backwards so you had to pay attention.
2006-11-06 12:09:21 · answer #4 · answered by grapelady911 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Know one really knows for sure... click on these links for some theories.
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_264.html
http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/248000.html
http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/19/messages/375.html
2006-11-06 12:09:45 · answer #5 · answered by Dan J 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋