Tuesday, June 01, 2004
Watch those P’s and Q’s
Someone at work reminded me of the expression, “you’d better mind your P’s and Q’s, and I wondered what it really meant. Actually, it means lots of things.
Theories include:
admonishment to children learning to write
admonishment to typesetters (who had to look at the letters reversed
admonishment to seamen not to soil their navy pea-jackets with their tarred “queues” (pigtails)
*mind your pints and quarts
mind your prices and quality
mind your pieds and queues
The most plausible explanation is the one given in the latest edition of Collins English Dictionary: an alteration of “Mind your ‘please’s and ‘thank you’s”.
*My favorite story - 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.”
Well, I thought it was kind of interesting. Many of us use many phrases that we have no idea of what they really mean.
