See mind one's ps and qs in All languages combined, or Wiktionary
Download JSON data for mind one's ps and qs meaning in English (4.2kB)
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"etymology_text": "Uncertain; OED (3rd edition 2007) says that the origin of the phrase is unknown and states that a common suggestion is that the phrase originates with the distinction of the minuscule letters p and q in either the school-room or the printing-office, but goes on to say that the chronology of the senses argues against this since no such connotation is evident in the earliest quotations.\nIn the early 17th century, however, there is the expression pee and kew in the sense of “highest quality, best possible”. Also recorded as in thy Pee and Kue in 1602.\nAlternatively folk etymology claims that it comes from the sense that Ps and Qs mean 'Pints and Quarts' which were listed as 'Ps and Qs' before payment. The phrase would then come from minding your alcohol consumption as a result",
"forms": [
{
"form": "minds one's ps and qs",
"tags": [
"present",
"singular",
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{
"form": "minding one's ps and qs",
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{
"form": "minded one's ps and qs",
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"name": "en-verb"
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"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "verb",
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{
"text": "When we go to visit, do remember to mind your ps and qs, children – we don't want another incident like last time.",
"type": "example"
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],
"glosses": [
"To be very careful to behave correctly."
],
"id": "en-mind_one's_ps_and_qs-en-verb-an-1NLuq",
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"(idiomatic) To be very careful to behave correctly."
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "mind one's pees and cues"
},
{
"word": "be on one's pees and cues"
},
{
"word": "mind one's peas and cues"
},
{
"word": "be on one's peas and cues"
},
{
"word": "mind one's pees and kews"
},
{
"word": "be on one's pees and kews"
},
{
"word": "mind one's pees and ques"
},
{
"word": "be on one's pees and ques"
},
{
"word": "mind one's P's and Q's"
},
{
"word": "be on one's P's and Q's"
},
{
"word": "mind one's p's and q's"
},
{
"word": "be on one's p's and q's"
},
{
"word": "mind one's Ps and Qs"
},
{
"word": "be on one's Ps and Qs"
}
],
"tags": [
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],
"translations": [
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "to be careful, behave correctly",
"word": "olla tarkkana"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"english": "to be careful",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "to be careful, behave correctly",
"word": "olla kieli keskellä suuta"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "to be careful, behave correctly",
"word": "käyttäytyä"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"english": "to behave correctly",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "to be careful, behave correctly",
"word": "käyttäytyä hyvin olla kiltisti"
}
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"audio": "En-au-mind_one's_p's_and_q's.ogg",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/9/90/En-au-mind_one%27s_p%27s_and_q%27s.ogg/En-au-mind_one%27s_p%27s_and_q%27s.ogg.mp3",
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],
"word": "mind one's ps and qs"
}
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"etymology_text": "Uncertain; OED (3rd edition 2007) says that the origin of the phrase is unknown and states that a common suggestion is that the phrase originates with the distinction of the minuscule letters p and q in either the school-room or the printing-office, but goes on to say that the chronology of the senses argues against this since no such connotation is evident in the earliest quotations.\nIn the early 17th century, however, there is the expression pee and kew in the sense of “highest quality, best possible”. Also recorded as in thy Pee and Kue in 1602.\nAlternatively folk etymology claims that it comes from the sense that Ps and Qs mean 'Pints and Quarts' which were listed as 'Ps and Qs' before payment. The phrase would then come from minding your alcohol consumption as a result",
"forms": [
{
"form": "minds one's ps and qs",
"tags": [
"present",
"singular",
"third-person"
]
},
{
"form": "minding one's ps and qs",
"tags": [
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{
"form": "minded one's ps and qs",
"tags": [
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{
"form": "minded one's ps and qs",
"tags": [
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"head": "mind one's ps and qs"
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"name": "en-verb"
}
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"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "verb",
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"examples": [
{
"text": "When we go to visit, do remember to mind your ps and qs, children – we don't want another incident like last time.",
"type": "example"
}
],
"glosses": [
"To be very careful to behave correctly."
],
"links": [
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"careful"
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[
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"behave"
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[
"correctly",
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],
"raw_glosses": [
"(idiomatic) To be very careful to behave correctly."
],
"tags": [
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}
],
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"tags": [
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],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "mind one's pees and cues"
},
{
"word": "be on one's pees and cues"
},
{
"word": "mind one's peas and cues"
},
{
"word": "be on one's peas and cues"
},
{
"word": "mind one's pees and kews"
},
{
"word": "be on one's pees and kews"
},
{
"word": "mind one's pees and ques"
},
{
"word": "be on one's pees and ques"
},
{
"word": "mind one's P's and Q's"
},
{
"word": "be on one's P's and Q's"
},
{
"word": "mind one's p's and q's"
},
{
"word": "be on one's p's and q's"
},
{
"word": "mind one's Ps and Qs"
},
{
"word": "be on one's Ps and Qs"
}
],
"translations": [
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "to be careful, behave correctly",
"word": "olla tarkkana"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"english": "to be careful",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "to be careful, behave correctly",
"word": "olla kieli keskellä suuta"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "to be careful, behave correctly",
"word": "käyttäytyä"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"english": "to behave correctly",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "to be careful, behave correctly",
"word": "käyttäytyä hyvin olla kiltisti"
}
],
"word": "mind one's ps and qs"
}
This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-05-05 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-05-02 using wiktextract (f4fd8c9 and c9440ce). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.
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