Why do we mind our P's and Q's, instead of our V's and W's?

sequoianoir

I bet Germans mind their V's and W's (or even their VW's) Sep 11 03, 7:20 PM

sequoianoir

Actually minding your p's and q's is down to printing and the job of type-setter. p is almost q back to front When setting type in order to print a newspaper page for instance, all the letters are put in back to front and each letter is the reverse of the finished printed article. So what looks like a q in the type set actually prints a p and vice-versa. It was a fairly common mistake to get these mixed up so type setters were asked to "mind their p's and q's" so as to pay special attention and not to get them transposed. Sep 11 03, 7:26 PM

fosse4

The alternative version is to watch what the barman put on your bar tab/bill P for pints, Q for quarts(2 pints) Sep 13 03, 2:41 PM

satguru

As far as manners was concerned, I was always told it was for please and thank you's, though the print version could have come first, or vice versa. Apr 01 04, 4:31 AM

peasypod

Isn't it funny how we call it a double U when in fact it is a double v! Apr 01 04, 8:00 AM