Origins of mind your p's and q's

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number

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five I actually did a little bit of

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research here because the origins of

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this expression are mixed a lot of

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people are saying different things the

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expression is to mind your p's and q's

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so for example when you meet the queen

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you need to mind your p's and q's now p

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and Q I thought it stood for something

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however the research that I did

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suggested that it could be from the

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printing press when we initially first

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started using the printing press p's and

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q's could get confused uh because they

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look very similar when they're printed

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but if they're the wrong way around then

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they'll look like a p or vice versa or

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it could come from when children are

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being taught to write and again p and Q

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when you get it the wrong way around

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completely different meaning so to mind

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your p p's and q's refers to when you

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are asking somebody to be careful to pay

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attention to how they are behaving so it

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is often something that you might say to

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your children to younger Generations you

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need to mind your p's and q's in front

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of the teacher you need to mind your p's

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and q's when we visit their house it's