| 词汇 | mind your p-s and q-s |
| 词源 | mind your p’s and q’s. Be very careful, precise. We have been using this expression since at least the late 18th century with- out any definite proof of where it comes from, and we still don’t know. Not that there is any want of theories. Of the top 10 con- tenders, three are listed here: ■ The obvious explanation is that English children learning to write the alphabet were told to mind their p’s and q’s, to be careful not to reverse the loops on the letters and make p’s look like q’s and vice versa. Why wasn’t the admonition mind your b’s and d’s, though? ■ A similar theory holds that apprentice printers were told to mind their p’s and q’s, to be very careful in picking out type, especially since a typesetter has to read letters upside down. The trouble with this theory is that the reverse of a p isn’t a q but a d. ■ Word delvers always come up with a good barroom story whenever it’s possible to work one in, and a third explanation has British tavernkeepers minding their p’s and q’s when figuring up the monthly beer bill—be- ing careful, that is, not to confuse pints and quarts. |
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