Mind your P's and Q's!?

Question

What brave soul can tell me of the origin of this warning to use caution.

Answer 1

In the days of sail when Sailors were paid a pittance, seamen drank their ale in taverns whose keepers were willing to extend credit until payday. Since many salts were illiterate, keepers kept a tally of pints and quarts consumed by each Sailor on a chalkboard behind the bar. Next to each person's name, a mark was made under "P" for pint or "Q" for quart whenever a seaman ordered another draught.

On payday, each seaman was liable for each mark next to his name, so he was forced to "mind his P's and Q's" or he would get into financial trouble. To ensure an accurate count by unscrupulous keepers, Sailors had to keep their wits and remain somewhat sober. Sobriety usually ensured good behavior, hence the meaning of "mind your P's and Q's."

Answer 2

There are several theories.

To mind your Ps and Qs means, to be careful; cautious.

The Ps here are said to be pints and the Qs to be quarts. The publican "chalks up" or "puts on the slate" the drinks supplied to customers; they must be aware of how much they have drunk or their bills will be unexpectedly large.

Advice to a child learning its letters to be careful not to mix up the handwritten lower-case letters p and q.
Similar advice to a printer's apprentice, for whom the backward-facing metal type letters would be especially confusing.

An abbreviation of mind your please's and thank-you's.

There are many more theories.

Answer 3

The explanation I've heard is that it dates back to the days of moveable type.

Because the letters on the interchangeable blocks were a mirror image of what was actually printed on the page, the most common error in setting up pages for print was to mistake a 'p' for 'q' or vice-versa.

Mind your p's and q's means pay attention to what you're doing.

Answer 4

It originated in England where ale is sold by the Pints and Quarts and when patrons in a pub became unruly, they were told to mind their Ps and Qs. (hold their liquor)

Answer 5

Some people think it was used to teach children that there was a difference between p and q since they are mirror images of eachother.

Others think it came from Ireland, p's and q's referring to pints and quarts. Bartending and what not.

Answer 6

I assume since the letters sound similar, teachers would have nagged their students to "mind their Ps and Qs" when enunciating words that began with the two letters.

Answer 7

minding your P's and Q's typically refers to pints and quarts as most people have stated. it not only refers to minding how much you drink so as not to get too intoxicated, but also to minding the dollar amout of your bar tab. you NEVER want to jip your bartender or walk out on your tab! haha!

Answer 8

caution

Answer 9

Divine A... is absolutely correct. Good show!

Answer 10

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