p's and q's?

Question

What does it mean? What is the P and what is the Q?

so if p=problem and q=question...
what does it mean to mind them. I guess the general idea is watch what you say right?

Answer 1

Mind Your P's And Q's

The phrase dates to the late 18th century; at least 1779. The exact origin is unknown, but there are many contenders:

The first is that it derives from the phrase p and q which was an abbreviation for "prime quality". This English dialectical term dates to the 17th century. So to mind your p's and q's would mean to be quite exacting in detail and ensure high quality.

The second is that it refers to difficulty children had in learning to distinguish between the letters p and q, being mirror ../images of one another. To mind one's p's and q's is a phrase meaning to learn one's letters is first recorded around 1830; somewhat later than 1779 but not impossible as the origin. Often this explanation is identified with printers and distinguish between a p and a q in type as we'll see below, but the early use exclusively deals with children learning at school and not printing.

The third possibility, first suggested by Farmer and Henley at the turn of the 20th century, is that the phrase comes from the practice of maintaining a tally (nowadays a bar tab) in pubs and taverns. Marks under column p, for pint, or q, for quart, would be made on a blackboard. To mind them would be to watch to ensure that the bartender did not allocate someone else's drinks to your tab or to mark a pint as a quart.

The last is from the world of printing. Typesetters had to be very skilled in reading letters backwards, as the blocks of moveable type would have mirror ../images of the letters. The lower-case letters p and q were particularly difficult to distinguish because they are mirrors of one another. Typesetters had to be particularly careful not to confuse the two when laying out the page.

Answer 2

I guess it depends where you come from, and what context you use it.

I always though it meant Pleases and Question's when going some where, were you needed to mind you manners.

As a child I was always told "mind your P's & Q's", and as children are naturally inquiesitive, and would often ask questions and demand things with out a please. Hence the "mind your P's & Q's'.

Answer 3

Probably to teach kids to tell the difference between the two similar letters, although a few interesting ideas on its origin can be found at http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_264.html

Mind your pints and quarts, perhaps a reminder to a bartender? See the link for more...

Answer 4

It may have originated in British pubs as an abbreviation for "mind your pints and quarts." Supposedly this warned the barkeep to serve full measure, mark the customer's tab accurately, etc.

Answer 5

I had always heard it was the "Pints and quarts" explanation mentioned above, but the rest of Pink.Vixies explanations make sense too. I especially like the typesetting one. She gets my thumbs up and hopefully the 10 points from the asker...

Answer 6

P= problem
Q=question

Answer 7

It means watching your mannerisms. The usage of 'please' and 'thank you'