On April 17, 2012April 27, 2012 By Trevor BrydenIn the English language
By Trevor Bryden
What does the phrase mind your p’s and q’s mean and where does it come from? Trevor Bryden’s latest cartoonillustrates the origin of this phrase.
Very creative illustration of the origin of the phrase in question 🙂 Thank you! 🙂
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April 19, 2012 at 6:50 amReply
Mind your P’s and Q’s means ‘ Mind your own business’
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June 3, 2016 at 11:50 amReply
Thank you.
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February 15, 2018 at 8:15 amReply
actually, i can’t understand at all!!!
June 28, 2016 at 3:42 pmReply
Illustrated very clearly. Thanks.
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August 3, 2016 at 3:47 amReply
Could anyone explain the illustration please?
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August 1, 2020 at 3:52 amReply
The expression “mind you ‘p’s and ‘q’s” comes from a typesetter’s problem of having to view letters in reverse. The letter ‘b’ and ‘d’ are also the same in that, viewed in reverse, they can be confused.
Preparing text for printing involved picking the letter with a pair of ‘tweezers’ and placing it in the word order they are forming for printing which is all in reverse. In the ‘California Typesetter’s Box’ the ‘b’ and ‘d’ are in two entirely different places but the ‘p’ and the ‘q’ are side by side. If you don’t pay attention you can get the ‘p’ and ‘q’ confused and inadvertently put in the wrong letter. You have to pay attention to what you are doing. Hence the expression.
Another suggestion is the expression could come from running a tab in a pub and not paying attention to the number of pints and quarts you have had. You could have a tab that you don’t have the money to pay so you have to pay attention. …….. TrevorLoading...
August 5, 2020 at 8:45 pm
I thought it meant : mind (don’t forget) to use your manners.
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September 7, 2016 at 8:40 amReply
In growing up, “Mind your P’s and Q’s” was an admonishment to be on the best of manners, which meant being considerate.
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October 12, 2021 at 8:54 pmReply
I’ve been told that the phrase reffered to pubs running a tab for their regulars and that the barkeep would keep a running record where P stood for pint and q for quart. So that minding your p’s and q’s meant that you kept track of how much you owed on your tab/ line of credit.
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January 16, 2017 at 11:18 amReply
I never knew I just came up with my owns meaning mind your PS n Q’s meaning in every interaction or situation throughout the day thru experience I have developed a set of Paranoia Questions to test the integrity of all situations relationships or interactions that you deal with on a day to day basis so I know if I would like to trust or even indulge myself into the information given by interactions or situations faced …..
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November 25, 2017 at 10:16 amReply
What are the words in the gray smoke???GROAN what???
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January 21, 2018 at 3:37 pmReply
Groan – my head hurts
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June 2, 2019 at 1:38 pmReply
Meep meep meep
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December 16, 2019 at 10:44 amReply
What do you mean by, “Meep, meep, meep?”
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August 13, 2023 at 7:38 amReply
We used to be told (wrongly and imaginatively – and I believed it at the time!) that it meant “Mind your manners”, because one should say “Please” (your “p”), and “Thank you” – pronounced “thank q”.
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December 28, 2020 at 4:52 pmReply
👋
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January 10, 2024 at 7:55 amReply
It means mind your Pints and Quarts.
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May 4, 2023 at 3:58 amReply
I never knew what it meant, plus never even Googled it. So what I thought it was, through my own logic was, mind your P’s(personal) & Q’s(quotes). I know that it doesn’t make too much sense. I interpreted as like a Personal Insult. Again, I know it doesn’t make too much sense to anyone out there, but also, I was never corrected when I used it. But now I know, I really have to ask my friends if and when they use it, what exactly does it mean? But I am not going to be the big” I am” and keep them hanging as to what it means, as I will be pleased to tell them so they have the knowledge that I have now found out myself!
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August 13, 2023 at 7:34 amReply
Creative,but i don’t understand
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October 22, 2023 at 4:13 amReply
