I was told to 'mind my Ps and Qs', today at work.

Will someone please explain to me, what the hades Ps and Q's are ?

I know they refer to 'manners' somehow...but what do the letters stand for..and how did that phrase originate ?

I can't very well 'mind' something, if I don't even know what the hades it is.



Nova (slightly ranting)

Found this on IdiomSite:

P's and Q's (Mind Your P's and Q's)
Means to learn one's letters. Dates back to the late 18th century. Some people think it refers to the hard time children had learning to distinguish between the letters p and q, since they are mirror images of one another.



We received these emails from site visitors:

P’s n Q’s: it actually means, Mind your Pints and Quarts. In Pubs when people would start arguing, the bartenders would tell them to mind their own drinks... being pints n quarts!

I always thought that Mind your P's and Q's meant to behave appropriately. Also I thought it meant that if you don't mind your P's and Q's You are irresponsible Because if P's and Q's were referred to as Penny's and Quarters and nobody minded or paid attention to them and you lost them then you would have lost your Pennies and Quarters, or P's and Q's.

The most convincing explanation of this idiom I've heard is that it comes
from the early days of printing, when movable type was positioned for
printing. This process was done upside-down - a technique not impossible to
get used to after some time. However, the lowercase letters p and q were
hard to distinguish, since in most designs they were mirror images of each
other. Hence" mind your P's and Q's!", a phrase I was told was shouted at
young children working in these print shops.

I am under the impression that the saying minding your p's and q's, does
mean mind your pints and quarts. Bartenders would use tally marks i.e. 4
pints equal a quart, if the customer got out of line, the bartender would
use the phrase, mind your p's and q's. I have also heard the customer would
use it when they thought they were being over charged..

My silly eyes...

I thought you wrote that you found it on IdiotSite.

Thanks !

Well I'm certainly not minding any pints and quarts !
Wait till I see that jack*** tomorrow, at work.


Nova

What your co-worker probably meant was "Mind your own business."

That was just the history I gave.

I'd like to mind a pint right now. ;)

I figured he was implying for me to 'mind my manners'...but it drove me nuts that he phrased the way he did, and I didn't actually know what it meant.


He's still a jack***.

I think over time, well, here in Aus anyway, the original meaning being

P’s n Q’s: it actually means, Mind your Pints and Quarts. In Pubs when people would start arguing, the bartenders would tell them to mind their own drinks... being pints n quarts!
(Thanks E_F)

became mind your manners..and then on to Ps & Qs..please and thankyous..:faint:

My first ex husband is a printer. He'd probably get a kick out this suggested definition:



"it comes from the early days of printing, when movable type was positioned for
printing. This process was done upside-down - a technique not impossible to
get used to after some time. However, the lowercase letters p and q were
hard to distinguish, since in most designs they were mirror images of each
other. Hence" mind your P's and Q's!"

Now that we have cleared that one up, can anybody tell me what the HECK is so happy about a CLAM?? That one always irked me to no end.

from World Wide Words:


[Q] From Judy Austin, Idaho: “Do you have any idea of the origins of the phrase happy as a clam? I’ve heard it and used it for years without wondering just how one would determine that a clam is happy—my acquaintance with the mollusc is strictly through consumption.”

[A] Near that stage in their lives, only the most masochistic of molluscs could be expected to experience anything but a sense of imminent dread. Even the most comfortable of clams, however, can hardly be called the life and soul of the party. All they can expect is a watery existence, likely at any moment to be rudely interrupted by a man with a spade, followed by conveyance to a very hot place.

John G Saxe put it better, or at any rate more poetically, in his Sonnet to a Clam, in the late 1840s:

Inglorious friend! most confident I am
Thy life is one of very little ease;
Albeit men mock thee with their similes,
And prate of being “happy as a clam!”
What though thy shell protects thy fragile head
From the sharp bailiffs of the briny sea?
Thy valves are, sure, no safety-valves to thee,
While rakes are free to desecrate thy bed,
And bear thee off,—as foemen take their spoil,
Far from thy friends and family to roam;
Forced, like a Hessian, from thy native home,
To meet destruction in a foreign broil!
Though thou art tender, yet thy humble bard
Declares, 0 clam! thy case is shocking hard! The saying is very definitely American, hardly known elsewhere. The fact is, we’ve lost its second half, which makes everything clear. The full expression is happy as a clam at high tide or happy as a clam at high water. Clam digging has to be done at low tide, when you stand a chance of finding them and extracting them. At high water, clams are comfortably covered in water and so able to feed, comparatively at ease and free of the risk that some hunter will rip them untimely from their sandy berths. I guess that’s a good enough definition of happy.

The saying in its shortened form is first recorded in the 1830s, though it is almost certainly a lot older; by 1848 the Southern Literary Messenger of Richmond, Virginia could say that the expression in its short form “is familiar to every one”.

<!--STORY ENDS--><!-- BOTTOM BANNER -->

LOL !!

I have several other phrases too, that drive me as nutso, as the one I mentioned !!

Ahhhhhh! So its not used properly, by leaving off the "at high tide" bit, it made no sense!

So its the equivalent of "Happy as a hog in mud...mule eating briars", that kind of thing? Thanks!

Now why are daisies so fresh?? :D

LOL !!

I have several other phrases too, that drive me as nutso, as the one I mentioned !!Oh THANK YOU Nova! Some days I feel like its just me going :eyebrow: "WHY??"

LMAO............

LOL..I haven't even heard that saying..Happy as a clam!

The other week my 17yo's b/friend said

"Jen wants me to get dressed up for my birthday. She's taking me to tea, and I have to wear my suit!":p

I am thinking..gee, that's a bit strange..where on earth does he need a suit aound here..and I said "that's strange, where are you going?"

and he said

" I don't know, she just said I have to wear my BIRTHDAY SUIT!":eek: :eek:

And he wondered why I nearly fell over laughing..he's never heard that saying "Birthday suit!":D :D

"At high water, clams are comfortably covered in water and so able to feed, comparatively at ease and free of the risk that some hunter will rip them untimely from their sandy berths."



Ha ha !
I'm one of those 'hunters' ! I used to go clam diggin' in my younger days !

What about 'ado' ?

Without further 'ado'...

What is it and why can't we take it further ??

what on earth are you talking about..???
"...mule eating briars", LOL

That's what donkies like to eat...thistles, nettles, briars, weeds.

"Please! Please don't throw me in the Briar Patch!"

what on earth are you talking about..???
LOLImma tell ya what right there Tracy...y'all Ozzies just dunno how to TALK RIGHT!!

Its a wee bit Southern in origin but yes, mules and donkeys like to eat briars and are quite happy to find some juicy ones.

"Without further ado"

from Eggcorn:

A spirited defense of the “correctness” of without further adieu in certain contexts has been made by “lamar” in a comment on a LiveJournal: (http://www.livejournal.com/users/junyr/66243.html?thread=164803#t164803)

actually, they’re both correct… “Without further ado” just means without further introduction, or raving… to be used between praising someone that you’re about to introduce and the actual introduction. “Without further adieu” means (although it’s not really a common p[h]rase, it still makes sense) without further goodbyes… to be used when bidding an important farewell address. The funny thing is, they can be used in very similar situations.

Examples:

“Bill Clinton has lowered the illiteracy rate, maintained low unemployment, and put the nation’s budget into a $5 billion surplus, and without further ado, I give you — William Jefferson Clinton!”

“I am sad to say that I will be leaving Enron as CEO. My heart has been with this company — and will continue to be with this company — for as long as I can remember. Without further adieu, I turn you over to your new CEO, John Doe(rk).”

Truly an excellent eggcorn.

<LI class=arnoldzwicky id=comment-493>1 (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/english/93/adieu/comment-page-1/#comment-493)

Commentary by Arnold Zwicky <CITE>, 2005/04/10 at </CITE>

OKIE..LOL..I know I should NOT only speak Aussie, But I have no IDEA what you both mean...when would the saying be used, or in what context???

Which phrase Trace?

Without further adieu makes sense.


How 'ado' is linked to intros, though, still baffles me...


I want to take it further, dagnabbit !!

Why are daisies so fresh?

meaning "looking fresh", "alert"

Well, don't they? Haven't you ever seen a daisy!?

the briar eating donkey one!!

OKIE..LOL..I know I should NOT only speak Aussie, But I have no IDEA what you both mean...when would the saying be used, or in what context???When making an analogy to what you're as happy as...those phrases would be used when you are contentedly and blissfully happy.

i.e. "I got the day off work and just lay on the couch to read, I was as happy as a donkey eating briars. (or happy as a clam at high tide)."

LMAO !!!

All of them sound even more silly, when they're *said* in the way you just said it, Trace !!

ahh..so after a huge dinner, and a nice glass of wine, I'd say

" I am happy as a mule in a briar patch" :D :D
or after a *nice romp in the hay* :p

You got it aussie-girl!

Without further ado, I was happy as a mule eatin' briar...because I didn't have ot mind my Ps and Qs. (0:


LOL!

I'm such an as* !!

Why are daisies so fresh?

meaning "looking fresh", "alert"

Well, don't they? Haven't you ever seen a daisy!?Well yes, I have seen a daisy many times but they never look any fresher than other flowers to me...:o...I suppose they MUST be mighty fresh though, they seem to decorate "feminine product" boxes an awful lot!

Without further ado, I was happy as a mule eatin' briar...because I didn't have ot mind my Ps and Qs. (0:


LOL!

I'm such an as* !!Then you must be enjoying those briars quite a bit there Nova...:D.

I would normally say

"happy as a pig in pooh" :-)

I don't think we even have mules or donkies over here LOL..I have never seen one anyway!!

I would normally say

"happy as a pig in pooh" :-)

I don't think we even have mules or donkies over here LOL..I have never seen one anyway!!That could be it Tracy, I seem to remember Steve Irwin spouting off about how hoofed animals were not indigenous to Australia...I believe he was saying that the imported deer were eroding the soil?

Deer of course have cloven hooves...hey there's another one!

"Frozen like a deer in the headlights" :D...that one makes sense to me.

Well yes, I have seen a daisy many times but they never look any fresher than other flowers to me...:o...I suppose they MUST be mighty fresh though, they seem to decorate "feminine product" boxes an awful lot!
*spit drink all over monitor*

Well, I'd be a might bit concerned if the products had race cars or dirty socks to advertise them. ew.

Now I'm wonderin' if half the stuff I say on here, IS understood, by all members....

LOL...

now I am wracking my brain trying to come up with other sayings we use a lot..

Sure am...soaked 'em in vodka first.

LOL !

Now I'm wonderin' if half the stuff I say on here, IS understood, by all members....LOL..pretty much Nova :p

Here ya go Chel:

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y92/kzrainbow/lmao.jpg

:D and ya never hear anyone say "Fresh as a race car" now do ya??

"Frozen like a deer in the headlights" :D...that one makes sense to me.
we would refer to kangaroos doing that..but it's not a "saying"

rotten things, they bouce out and stop and stare right at the headlights as you are driving at 110k's...:(

:D and ya never hear anyone say "Fresh as a race car" now do ya??

LOL..we say that ALL the time...:D :D Now, what could be fresher than a race car???

Sure am...soaked 'em in vodka first.

LOL !MMMMM sounds like that would go nicely with pickled melon rinds ;).

And I honestly am starting to think EVERYBODY understands you except me! :o

CF,

That pic n phrase, would be a GREAT substitute for 'LOL' !!!

Too bad I couldn't use it as much as I'd want to...
Prolly, irritate the hades out of everybody, if I did !!

Tracy, you probably think the dirty sock thing was good too- "Fresh as a dirty sock"- there ya go you washing lover!

You are clearly "too twisted for color TV" ya know it? :D

MMMMM sounds like that would go nicely with pickled melon rinds ;)
Girlfriend, if anyone doubted you were from the south, they are sho of it now.

CF,

That pic n phrase, would be a GREAT substitute for 'LOL' !!!

Too bad I couldn't use it as much as I'd want to...
Prolly, irritate the hades out of everybody, if I did !!Oh go on and copy it to Photobucket Nova, I share my good images :).

"like a deer in the headlights"


I've looked like that !

You are clearly "too twisted for color TV" ya know it? :D
HUH!!! colour TV????????????????? who gets coloured TV???

Noooooooooo..the 'spit on my monitor' one !!! (0:

HUH!!! colour TV????????????????? who gets coloured TV???See, now if you had not been having as much fun as a mule has in briars sorting colored washing from white, you might have noticed the change in TV when it went from black and white to colored! :p

Noooooooooo..the 'spit on my monitor' one !!! (0:I figured it out and went back and edited...but ya caught me! Curses! Foiled again!

Oh go on and copy it to Photobucket Nova, I share my good images :).

I have a .gif of Penn (from Penn and Teller) saying something pretty crude, LOL!
I've only used it one time, on another forum, when a member was aggravating me.

He's mouthing the words 'Shut the ***k up'... it just keeps repeating, LOL !

I once had an image in avatar size the said:

Enter password

Then it would type a 5 letter word for male genitalia :D

Then flash to

Password too short!

I tried to modify it and ruined it :( and can no longer remember where I got it from!

ROFL
Love Penn and Teller,
love the password "thingy".

I'd send it to you- but I can't attach anything on here, LOL !

I can send it to you via your email, though, if you want it.

You guy are hillarious... or is that just another saying like " fresh as a daisy" growing in a biar patch so the mule can eat it.

I'd send it to you- but I can't attach anything on here, LOL !

I can send it to you via your email, though, if you want it.
Thank you muchly.

Lol i love it Nova,
P and Q's over here in the u.k means mind your manners so-to- speak, was you swearing by any chance lol

Without further ado, good question!! if some one says it to me i take it right no more messing about let's get on with it and were not going over it again, because I'm confusing them lol

Give us some more Nova?

Lol i love it Nova....was you swearing by any chance lol

Not until after I was told to mind my Ps and Qs by that coworker..I just wasn't being 'him', is all....and any swearing I did, was done in my mind anyways...although I'm confident my facial expression, conveyed the 'message', as effectively.

What about 'smart as a whip' ?

I know better, than to take this one, literally...


I'm, usually great at speaking 'metaphorese', too.


Nova

from Google Answers:

"SMART AS A WHIP---Bright; clever.---"That boy is smart as a
whip."---A whip "smarts" when it is used on someone or some animal.
You can see the natural transfer, a play on words."

This isn't a definitive definition, but it always comes back to a whip.

*no comment*

On 'whomever' decided, the phrase was to be used, this way.


Nova (shaking her head)

"pretty as a picture", that really makes no sense, what if its like a picture of a train wreck??

"pretty as a picture", that really makes no sense, what if its like a picture of a train wreck??LOL :D :D

"good, right to the last bite"

now, what is wrong with the last bite if the rest was so good???

"Keep your nose clean" or "keep your nose to the grindstone"...make up your MIND!

Mehbee... you have to clean the grindstone, before you stick your nose to it.
Hee heee !!!


Nova

From the Phrase Finder:

Keep Your Nose to the Grindstone:


Meaning

Apply yourself conscientiously to your work.

Origin

Before the mechanisation of the metalwork trade the standard method for knife grinders when sharpening blades was to lie flat on their fronts with their faces near the grindstone in order to hold the blades against the stone.

The first known citation is Frith, Mirror to know Thyself, 1532 "This Text holdeth their noses so hard to the grindstone, that it clean disfigureth their faces."