p's and q's

noun

1. manners; behavior; conduct (usually preceded by mind orwatch ).

   The children were told to mind their p's and q's.

p's and q's

plural noun

1. behaviour within social conventions; manners (esp in the phrase to mind one's p's and q's )

Word History and Origins

Origin of p's and q's¹

First recorded in 1770–80; perhaps from some children's difficulty in distinguishing the two letters

Word History and Origins

Origin of p's and q's¹

altered from p ( lea ) se and ( than ) k-you's

Example Sentences

This was another example of Penelope’s optimism, for the two younger Incorrigibles were sloppy printers at best; Cassiopeia struggled mightily with the spelling of her own name, and even Alexander was prone to mixing up his p’s and q’s.

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The pandemic seems a good starting point to measure the foundering of America’s p’s and q’s, seeing as how it produced the equivalent of a national nervous breakdown and pried a deeply divided country even further apart.

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Viewed this way, minding our p’s and q’s is less about proscriptive notions of correctness, and more about mindfulness, self-discovery and proper conduct.

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“I was like, ‘This is going to be a 10-minute phone call, check my background, P’s and Q’s, whatever,’” UW director of social media Hadley Heck recalls of her job interview last summer.

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“The last thing a head coach wants to do is talk to a social media candidate over the phone on a Saturday in July when he’s off. I was like, ‘This is going to be a 10-minute phone call, check my background, P’s and Q’s, whatever.’

Read more on Seattle Times