Perhaps it’s just me, but anyone I’ve ever asked said “mind your p’s and q’s” meant “remember to say please and thank you”- the Q being the sound of the word “you” when preceded by a K.
Anyone else heard this?
It’s just you.
That’s exactly right, it means “Remember to say please and thank-you”. Fairly obvious really.
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_264.html
again, I find a telling coincidence with
You might, however, notice that the web page was not created until 1996, whereas the article from Uncle Cece was published in 1989. :smack:
It is NOT fairly obvious; read the column and understand it isn’t even close to correct. :rolleyes:
Calm down Mr Young, no need to start using capitals.
I admit that maybe my last comment was unnecessary. It’s just that in British English usage it is quite widespread and has always meant “Remember to say please and thank you”. I was quite surprised to find this meaning wasn’t included in Cecil’s list, although I did find his other suggestions interesting as I wasn’t aware there were so many theories about its origin.
I’m not sure what you mean by your comment “it isn’t even close to correct.” though. Why isn’t it? It’s equally as valid as the other suggestions.
A couple of examples:
Except that it hasn’t, you see. It’s always meant “be careful in what you say or do”. Now, this naturally includes – in some situations – minding your manners, which would probably include saying please and thank you – but not exclusively that. From its first appearances, the phrase has been a more general caution, more often than not having nothing explicitly to do with verbal politeness.
Thanks WotNot, I’ve only ever heard it used in relation to minding manners and not as the more general caution you have suggested. It just shows how varied English language usage can be!
Don’t you think, however, that (as Really Not All That Bright stated in the original post to this thread) the “Ps and Qs” element of the phrase suggests that its origins could lie with the phonetics of Please and Thank you? Isn’t it possible that the current and more general meaning of minding one’s manners (and/or being cautious in general) is something that has developed over time, as happens with many phrases?
Sure, it’s possible. Thing is, though, that just because there isn’t any direct evidence for or against any of the various proposed etymologies, that doesn’t mean they’re all equally likely. There’s indirect evidence, i.e. experience with similar phrases, that can be used to “weight” the probability of the competing scenarios. From that perspective, the simplest explanation, the warning to schoolchildren about handwriting, seems to have the highest likelihood of being true. On the other hand, “please and 'kyous” has a nifty resonance and originality that makes it a fun and attractive option, so personally I’m fine with adding it to the pile. Just not at the top, y’know. 
And besides, stranger things have happened in the field. The source of “OK” was hotly debated for many years, for example. Out of the many hypotheses offered, the ones that centered on an abbreviation were generally dismissed almost out of hand, because those etymologies hadn’t ever panned out before (compare: “to insure promptness,” “for unlawful carnal knowledge,” “port outward starboard home,” “constable on patrol,” ad nauseum). But then research uncovered “Oll Korrect” among a faddish fascination for initialized phrases in the 1830s, and lo and behold, out of all the acronym-type etymologies people have bandied about over the years, speculations which were debunked and discounted with ease, one of them, amazingly, turned out to be true.
So while you should feel free to carry the flag for “please and 'kyous,” just keep your perspective regarding its relative position in the etymological pantheon. 
Before children’s handwriting is cited, it is necessary first to establish what was the standard handwriting in the critical period. In copperplate handwriting, which I was taught, “p” and “q” are quite distinct, and the “q” I was taught to “print” a few years earlier was also not a mirror image of “p”, having a tail curved to the right. But I don’t know how that stood in the 18th century.
Ah, yes. The insurmountable barrier of time. I had forgotten.
Note that my experience would indeed be associated with British English, since I grew up in England.
Probably should have mentioned that in the OP.
I’ve just thought of another possibility for where “Mind your Ps and Qs” might have come from, and I don’t know if any one else has mentioned it yet:
SYMBOLIC LOGIC
It’s common in some textbooks on symbolic logic to use capital letters to stand for statements. For example, consider the following argument:
- If it’s raining, the ground is wet.
- It’s raining.
- Therefore, the ground is wet.
This argument could be abbreviated in symbolic logic as follows:
- If P, then Q.
- P.
- Therefore, Q.
P is often used for the postulate (a statement given as true for the sake of the argument), but in general, P, Q, R, and the letters following these all stand in for statements used throughout an argument.
Perhaps “Mind your Ps and Qs” comes from elementary courses in symbolic logic, where the admonition was to make sure you put everything in the proper order.
I always heard it mean mind your PINTS and QUARTS
:rolleyes: see links above