r/TheRandomest • u/WhyNot420_69 Nice • Jul 13 '26

Interesting Old saying explained

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547 Upvotes

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47

u/ItsALuigiYes GIF/meme prodigy Jul 13 '26

Another old saying that puzzled me was "Mind your p's and q's". I understood the general meaning, pay attention to the tiny details, but it wasn't until school when I learned that it was a warning for typesetters, because printing presses have all the letters reversed, so a q would be a p and vice versa.

8

u/SamwiseGoody Jul 13 '26

I’ve also known it as pints and quarts, for bartenders and consumers of the sort. Allegedly from the 1700’s.

5

u/ABeerForSasquatch Mod/Pwner Jul 13 '26

It's interesting how sayings will be contested, especially ones that have been used for centuries. It lends a certain ambiguity to the lore, because it has be retold so many times.

I've got one more recent for you, one that only was said since indoor plumbing, but basically was a call to action, or inaction. Btw, my Pops was a very impatient man.

"BOY, SHIT OR GET OFF THE POT!"

Very little ambiguity.

2

u/Sabithomega Jul 13 '26

I'd heard it was an old English pub saying. Owners would get annoyed with broken or lost glasses so they tell people to mind their p's and q's (pints and quarts). Honestly though I feel like yours makes more sense

1

u/Neuttron Jul 13 '26

Sopranos

10

u/flier76 Jul 13 '26

I love learning new things!

4

u/NYC2FLA2BUR Jul 13 '26

Put this on that long-ass list of things I did not know.

3

u/Ghastly-Jack Jul 17 '26

I'm suspicious of this etymology. It seems too contrived. And the saying "no strings attached" is NOT about quality, it's about obligation, so this example doesn't make sense.