Brewing Master

Question:

My understanding of the "history" of Ps and Qs is it was related directly to our very own love.  Brewing!  Or more specifically, pubs.  Way back when you ordered either a Pint or a Quart of ale.  And as you ran up a tab, the bartend would mark either a P or a Q down on you’re tab.  And the typical warning of bartenders and pub owners (usually the same) was to watch you’re Ps and Qs. Apparently they did not look kindly on people that did not pay their tabs. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -I understood that when sailors pulled into english ports (where the currency was pence and quid) they were to told by the first mate, as they went ashore for an evening’s liberty, "Mind your P’s and Q’s."  Of course, if those sailors had swilled many Quarts, then those same sailors may have no longer cared about how many quid they had. In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts.  So in old England, when customers got unruly, the bartender would yell at them to mind their own pints and quarts and settle down.  It’s where we get the phrase "mind your P’s and Q’s". — I read that mind your p’s and q’s came from early printing practices. When printers use to print with little metal letters mounted on little pieces of wood, the letters were backwards. So when they were pressed on to paper they would be facing the right way. The phrase comes from making sure you did not put a p instead of a q. But then again which came first the English pubs or Little metal letters mounted on wood? Richie THE PUBS!!!! ana