A few days ago
Smiley Miley

what does minding your p’s and q’s mean?

what does the p mean and what does the q mean?

Top 10 Answers
A few days ago
Patricia L

Favorite Answer

In innkeeper speak it meant take care of business, or mind your pints and quarts. Today it translates into taking care of your business, whatever your business might be.
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A few days ago
Anonymous
The old-fashion outdated quirky saying was first recorded in 1779. It simply means minding your manners or to be prudent in one’s own behavior. The idiom can also mean to pay sharp attention.The “P”meaning prime and the “Q” quality. That’s the best I can do for now.
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A few days ago
blue81696
This saying originated in the pubs. When someone was getting unruly or mouthy the bartender would say mind your p’s and q’s.

Which meant drink your ale in your pints and quarts, and don’t cause trouble. Nowadays, it means pay attention to your own business.

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A few days ago
wolfmankav
It comes from printers admonishing their apprentices not to mix up the similar appear p’s and q’s in the early days of movable type.

The pints and quarts story is almost certainly apocryphal.

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A few days ago
codemonkey812
It’s from the age of bar maids, Minding your pints and quarts
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A few days ago
kerriwyn13
Minding your business. Pints and quarts.
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A few days ago
Experto Credo
This is open for debate, but it usually heads back to the Pub, where the barkeep needs to keep tabs on all the (p)ints and (q)uarts sold
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A few days ago
?
Pints & Quarts
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A few days ago
sandyclausbeth
To mind one’s Ps and Qs (1779), possibly is from confusion of these letters among children learning to write.
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A few days ago
phockit47
It came from the old time printers. When setting the print the “P” and the”Q” were hard to tell which was which.
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