Where and why did the expression start, "mind your p's & q's?

Question

I was surprised to know what it meant!!

Answer 1

I've heard 2 different answers; the 1st was to mind your "pints" and "quarts" in a pub, so as not to give too much to the customer...2nd was that on the older printers it was easy to mix up the p and the q when you set the press.

Answer 2

I googled the question, out of my own curiousity and most sites had this for an answer.
As to where "mind your P's and Q's," meaning "be very careful" or "behave yourself" came from, I'm afraid that there is no clear answer, though folks have been saying it since the late 1700's. The consolation is that there are a number of fascinating theories, so you can pretty much take your pick of the following.

One theory is that the phrase comes from the practice in certain British pubs of tallying a customer's purchases on a blackboard behind the bar, with the notation "P" standing for "pints" and "Q" for quarts. If a customer failed to pay close attention and "mind his P's and Q's," he might well find by evening's end that the barkeep had padded his tab.

Another theory, drawn from the schoolroom, is that any child approaching the mystery of penmanship soon discovers that the lowercase "p" is devilishly easy to confuse with the lowercase "q." Thus, the theory goes, generations of teachers exhorting their small charges to "mind your P's and Q's" created a enduring metaphor for being attentive and careful. A similar theory centers on typesetters in old-fashioned printing shops, where the danger of confusing lowercase "p" and "q" was increased because typesetters had to view the typeset text backwards.

Still other theories tie the "P" to "pea" cloth (the rough fabric used in "pea jackets") and the "Q" to "queue," which meant a ponytail, either that of the fancy wigs worn by courtiers of the day or the real ponytails commonly worn by sailors. In the upscale version of this theory, young aristocrats were cautioned not to get the powder from their wigs on their jackets made of pea cloth. The sailor version has old salts advising newcomers to dip their ponytails in tar (a common practice, believe it or not), but to avoid soiling their pea jackets with the tar.

Answer 3

As others have said, the answer did come from old British pubs, where the barkeep would tell rowdy drinkers to "mind their pints and quarts". And yes, it was a way to tell them to settle down and mind their manners.

Another saying from this same time period is "wet your whistle"... This saying originated in old English pubs also. People used to drink from mugs that had a whistle built into the handle, this was used to alert the servers that they were ready for another round. (Sounds rude doesn't it?! :) Hence, to "wet your whistle" is to get a drink!

Answer 4

It 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

In type setting in the old days when hot metal type was used for printing "p's and q's" could very easily be switched because you are reading the type backwards. Setting names in hot metal type for printing on diplomas is a good example for what I am talking about.

Answer 6

One theory is that it comes from the pub, as the barkeep had to keep track of all the (p)ints and (q)uarts that were sold

Answer 7

p and q, when viewed in movable type and set in a line ready to print, are very similar and therefore easy to confuse.

It's an old printer's saying which has come to mean "pay close attention to detail"

Answer 8

Gosh I really learned something by reading the replys to your ?

Answer 9

Don't work in a British pub if you don't know how to mind your 'P's' and 'Q's' !

Pints and Quarts!

Answer 10

Mind your pints and quarts