mind one's p's and q's

mind one's p's and q's
{v. phr.} To be very careful what you do or say; not make mistakes. * /When the principal of the school visited the class the students all minded their p's and q's./ * /If you wish to succeed you must mind your p's and q's./ (From the old U.S. Navy when sailors marked on a board in the bar how many Pints and Quarts of liquor they had taken. It was bad manners to cheat.) Syn.: WATCH ONE'S STEP.

Dictionary of American idioms. 2013.

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  • mind one's p's and q's — {v. phr.} To be very careful what you do or say; not make mistakes. * /When the principal of the school visited the class the students all minded their p s and q s./ * /If you wish to succeed you must mind your p s and q s./ (From the old U.S.… …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • mind one's p's and q's — (Roget s IV) v. Syn. act properly, conform, mind; see behave 2 , mind 3 …   English dictionary for students

  • mind one's p's and q's — verb To be very careful to behave correctly. When we go to visit, do remember to mind your ps and qs, children mdash; we dont want another incident like last time …   Wiktionary

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  • mind one's own business — {v. phr.} To not interfere in the affairs of others. * /He finally got tired of her criticism and told her to mind her own business./ …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • mind one's own business — {v. phr.} To not interfere in the affairs of others. * /He finally got tired of her criticism and told her to mind her own business./ …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • mind one's own business — verb To concern oneself only with what is of interest to oneself and not interfere in the affairs of others. I was just walking down the road, minding my own business, when I was attacked by a mugger …   Wiktionary

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  • Mind your Ps and Qs — Ps and Qs redirects here. For the song, see P s and Q s (song). Mind your Ps and Qs is an English expression meaning mind your manners , mind your language , be on your best behaviour or similar. There are several different theories as to the… …   Wikipedia

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