Useless Trivia of the Day #1

In an effort to fill my long and boring days, I have decided to create a new feature on the blog. I figure, I've got nothing but time, so I might as well look up some interesting things from time to time. So, today, I bring the first installment of Useless Trivia of the Day. Today we shall tackle the origin of the idiom, "Mind your p's and q's."

Mind your p's and q's

Early today I was on the phone with SIL and, as usual, our conversation went on its rambling way and out of no where (or at least it seems that way now) I said, "Mind your p's and q's." We both now what it "means" but neither of us could remember what the p and q stand for, if anything. So I mentioned I would look it up and let her know, since she was on her way to school and had no internet access. Thus this entry and "Useless Trivia of the Day" (UTOTD) was born.

So, in my infinite amount of free time (and yes, I wish I was being sarcastic) I plugged "p's and q's" into Wikipedia and it yeilded...nothing. "No page with that title ("mind your p's and q's") exists. At first I was crest fallen...but as I scrolled down I discovered: List of idioms in the English Language.

Ah HA! Success! So, here is what wikipedia has to say about the origin of the idiom, "mind your p's and q's":

"To be very careful and/or to behave correctly. It is tied to the fact that the lowercase letters "p" and "q" mirror each other. This is a term from typesetters in the printing industry. In the days of lead type, letters were set individually into a page, and they were placed one by one, upside down. They were pulled from a typecase, in which each letter had a designated space to reside. Problems came when pages were being taken apart and letters put away. If someone was in a hurry or was not paying attention to what he was doing, he could end up with p's and q's in the wrong slots in the typecase, which he wouldn't notice until the next time he was putting together a page, when he would unknowingly pick out the wrong letter. (This could also happen with b's and d's, but as they are more common than q's, typesetters were more accustomed to finding them, and they were mixed up less often.) Hence, pay attention to what you're doing now, so that you don't give yourself problems later on. Alternatively, in England this phrase is also associated with "p'ease" and "'k you" baby talk for 'Please' and 'Thank you', hence "Mind your P's and Q's" is sometimes used to mean "Remember to say 'Please' and 'Thank you.'" Another less widely accepted origin of this phrase purports to have originated in England where, when patrons at a bar were becoming unruly, the bartender would remind them to, "Mind your pints and quarts." This has been shortened to the phrase, "Mind your P's and Q's.""

Less you think I am not being thorough, I also plugged "p's and q's" into my handy-dandy Google tool bar and it came up with lots of sites. Most of which said the same thing that wikipedia did, so I will spare you the redundancy.

I hope enjoyed the first installment of UTOTD...I have a funny feeling the next one won't be too far behind. Also, should you have a random question, feel free to ask. Lord knows I am at a loss of things to fill my day with. :)