Mind your P’s and Q’s
What exactly are your P’s and Q’s?
Oh… when you show the plural of single letters, you use an apostrophe… it’s weird, I know… but it’s true. You can show capital single, plural letters without the apostrophe, but the preferred method is to use the apostrophe for consistency.
http://www.yamaha-motor.com/sport/apparel/apscitem detail/1/14/14/all/6337/detail.aspx
Sticks and stones will break my bones, but P’s and Q’s will never hurt me.
Hi Marina!
How’s life treating you today? Can I offer another possible solution to the Question?
In Briton we have some groups of Celtic languages still living on in places like Wales, Cornwall and Ireland and they are grouped into P-Celts and Q-Celts because when we come to translate old celtic script, to record the K sound one group wrote a q and the other a p. E.g when writing family names ’son of’ was Maq in Q-Celtic but Map in P-Celtic. So there was a reason to mind your P’s and Q’s when talking to anyone about their family heritage etc etc and their favoutite fast food place ..Map Donald’s would have got you laughed out of the local burger bar!
Any word origin that refers back to beer will be the one I remember, validated or not.
I love the chair you are sitting on. How is the manufacturer called?
I always thought that minding my P’s and Q’s meant to correctly utilize punctuation and quotation marks.
Like this site…
Aloha my Beautiful And Knowlegeable Teacher;
For me, the answer you gave for “mind your P’s and Q’s” equating it to pints And quarts when a barkeep is adding up ones bar-tab seems correct. My earlist memroy thou is when a child my grandmother saying that phrase when being around adults and speaking.
Aloha
I’ll guess 1st one,the bartender one seems good too. I’m a tad bit grogged tho from self-inflicted groggedishicalismican activities.
tryant-tillyagitit (yawn,stumble,lay down,snooooore)
tum te tum …. ahhhhh … i’ll check for some music …
Good music.
Simple Man
The best A+
Capman check this out
Marshal Tucker Band
Marshal Tucker Band
Let’s see if this works
I needed a space after the first <a href……..
looks like this place is deserted!
Where’s the desert, I like cake myself.Chocolate with Chocolate icing. And a big glass of milk. Yummmmy
The first theory (kids and their spelling) sounds the best to me.
Nick
Marina
I would think the winner of your Love Letter contest would
rather have a signed and personalized copy
of your new upcoming book……? Maybe both?
Marina
I forgot to tell you and your students.
Go to Urban Dictionaryand word search hotforwords
All your student can write an update, so far I am the only one :sad
Word Request: “Cocktail”
What has a cock and a tail have to do with something we drink?
I’d like to hear your version.
Don’t cheat now…. no Wikipedia.
ooh, and while i remember… “johnny come lately”
a person is referred to as a “Johnny come lately”
???????
thanks
Word/Phase Request
I heard “Balls to the wall,” has nothing to do with testicles
Then exactly what balls and who’s wall are they talking about?
Ok Chev you have to take a url that has a jpg or jpeg file or a gif file for this to work. First you find the picture you want and get the url from it by right clicking your mouse on the picture and selecting Properties from the open menu bar. Then copy and paste the url or the http//:blablabla.jpeg to the comment box you want to comment to comment to. Then add the following to the front and back of the url.<a href=”http//:blablabla.jpeg“> dog to the url and it should work. You may need to play with it some in the Learn / practice area under the Submit Comment box to the right in blue letters. There you can hone your wording so it does what you want it to. Also the learn / practice area will step you through a lot of the processes of adding different ways of adding bold letters, Italics and more. You can practice ther as much as you want to. It doesn’t interfere with the rest of the programs. If you need more help just send me another post. I will help you all I can.
Mike
At the end of dog add for the dog word to be blue and brink up a picture.
Never mind the second comment just go to the learn / practice area and try from there.
Thanks
I had to many to drink tonight, that’s why things aren’t working to good.
Hic
Try this video href=”http://www.hotforwords.com/2008/03/30/balls- to-the-wall/”> Balls to the Walls . It’s in her Word / Lesson at the top of the page. See if that answers your question Chev.
Balls to the Walls
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
Apparently any html it doesn’t like gets stripped off the top. Rats!
Unless I do it correctly!
There! now that it’s working properly, I wonder if it will produce the desired effect?
{determined to make it work this time!}
I give up.
…for now!
i would like to know the origin of “the bees knees”
“my new car is the bees knees” = my new car is the best thing.
A quick survey produced a <a href=http://ask.yahoo.com/20031127.html?Yahoo link from 2003 with information that Ps & Qs was first cited in the Oxford Dictionary around 1779, and was already well established to mean to be on one’s best behaviour. The allusion for school children to mind their lower case p’s and q’s wasn’t found until the 1800’s.
What…….. you don’t like my explanation ?
evidently there is no right or wrong way P’s or Ps or p’s
according to Miss Marina. I have not researched it so I will take her at her word.
I think a lot of us did Greg and we each come up with different answers. Or the same answer but no real truth behind the facts of the ps and qs.
Negotiat settlement as the wrong s commeted against You?
HI — I have a couple of requests:
– his or her “name is mud”
and
– mum’s the word
thanks!
not saying that i am right but “name is mud” came from a doctor whose surname was actually MUDD and he helped (fixed up) a person who had been shot.
this person actually got shot by a cop. why? because he’d just committed a robbery.
Dr. MUDD was then charged with helping a criminal.
AT LEAST THATS THE STORY AS I KNOW IT.
[Doctor Samuel Mudd]
mr. mudd and mr. gold.
Visual treat for all the Chi Chi Mongers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1toalqfJBc
Looks like that would hurt plus be bad for the boobs to slap them around like that. But it was interesting to watch any I enjoyed it.
HI Marina,
Looking georgous as ever, pretty hot too, thirsty almost! So I thought you may like to - ‘Wet your whistle!’
cheers
Oh, I know this one!
In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts… So in old
England , when customers got unruly, the bartender would yell at them ‘Mind your pints and quarts, and settle down.’ - …can’t see this phrase being taken too seriously to a bunch of Brits on the lash, really!
cheers
Congratz to all that won the Love letter contest.
Being a hopeless romantic, personally I would love to see the winning entries… Any chance of that, Dear Teacher?
Thank you Mike,
My name in the list is Klaus (in Calif)
“The only difference between eccentric and crazy is the amount of money you have.” Original quote by Che Volay
Someone at YouTube has it in for Marina; last time I looked the current vid was at the bottom of page two, and now it’s disappeared altogether.
Hi Bob, I see the current video at 2nd position on page 2 (i.e. 27th) with 65k views. The Perky video is at position #3 on page 1 with 503k views.
Maybe you were on the UK site or other site. I’m on the Worldwide (All) site.
Capman it seems others can chage their
Gravatar a lot quicker than I
I’ve clear cache & cookies several times now
plus restarted my PC
Is there another trick?
OK I understand now how it works
That other Gravatar felt evil
like it was possessed by an evil being
Gravatar just takes awhile sometimes to change Gravatars.
Grassy-ass mucho estoy yo
Spanish Yoda speak
Translation, Many thanks I am
Check out your YT Email
I changed mine over an hour ago to a different Yoda. It still hasn’t changed yet. I cleaned all of my cache twice. Slow gravatar.
The trick I picked up on is to go back to your Gravatar site
and click over your new Gravatar(the one which is highlighted) like magic it appears.
Maybe just a coincident but it work for me.
It just now changed to the new gravtar
Are you talking about this present Yoda Gravatar?
Because I seen it change at 4:28 PT
when I made a reply to you.
When they say do you read me over, do you read me, where did that come from?
Can someone tell me how this has happened Foxbow sent me a clip on msn of a voice identical to marinas syaing ” I love you I want to have sex with you oh yes oh oh oh my god thats so good ” The oh oh oh bit sounds really poorly done but the first parts and last parts are faultless. How on earth could he have made this voice. I know he plays around with music.
Mind your Ps and Qs my little Padawan.
he could’ve downloaded a few vids, extract the audio, put the right words / phrases together in a new audio file. takes a little work, though.
Send it to me James! I want to hear it!
maybe Marina loves Foxbow and wants to have sex with him oh yes oh oh oh and my god thinks that would be so good.
.. did you consider that?
Miss M I can’t believe as pretty as it is out side and your sitting by your computer commenting to us.
You should be out shopping or walking Kobe at the dog park. Live some the site will still be hear when you get back. 
Where did the word “buck” come from in reference to money. Example: He owes me 5 bucks.
Hello, I just became a member and im very excited!!
I have a word for you, and i would like to know how it came about..
The word is Lay`d = To get lay`d, to have sex. If you could help me that would be wonderful,, Okay have a great day bye..
I think I like… “My teacher Marina is Pretty Qute”. So, I always mind my “P” & “Q” teacher.
“Mind Your P,s and Q,s ” is an expression used by Chess players, “The Games of Kings” to remind themselves that the lowest point value piece on the board( pawn) and the highest value point (Queen) can all be the most valueable piece depending on how the game plays out. except for the king which is never captured or removed from the board(only checkmated).
Hi there Marina! I was watching your videos, when I saw the word “codswallop”. I thought I heard it somewhere before, but I couldn’t remember where. Now I’ve finally figured it out. It was in one of the Sam & Max games. So, I came up with another word from Sam & Max. How about investigating on “awkward”? Or on my nickname, “flummoxed”? Well, of course I know what does it mean, but where did it come from? (by the way, I’m Hungarian, so sorry about any mistakes I made
)
Hey cufan71 how about come over and help me change out the bearings on my tractors mower deck. I had one spindle freeze up Saturday. My son want help me he’s planning on a Saturday night stump burn in the back yard and a bunch of alkie friends are coming over to have a party. Most will sleep here when they are done in. Others have designated drivers. No one leaves here driving after drinking. Plenty of sleeping it off room.
Sorry Capman I’m not much of a repairman!
Any time I have major trouble with my tractor I take it to the John Deere dealer to get it fixed! Hope y’all had a BLAST at the party! 
Another example of Ps and Qs.
Investigations by the Oxford English Dictionary in 2007 when revising the entry turned up early examples of the use of Ps and Qs to mean learning the alphabet. The first is in a poem by Charles Churchill, published in 1763:
“On all occasions next the chair / He stands for service of the Mayor, / And to instruct him how to use / His A’s and B’s, and P’s and Q’s.”
The conclusion must be that this is the true origin.
Mucho grassy-ass
Hey, Mike, you stole my quotation.
Ishall have to drop a bag of flour on you next time I fly over.
Sorry Bob. I’ll do better next time.
IT comes from school mahrms telling their student to watch their P’s and Q’s
In other words watch your Punctuation and Quotation when writing
your school work. ( P’s & Q’s )
There you go the right answer from old guy greg.
actually it’s Ps & Qs
It’s actually p’s and q’s and Ps and Qs… and P’s and Q’s. Apostrophes are used to show the plural of single letters.
Hey Marina, this is my first time posting a comment to you. I just joined your site. I love your videos. I was wonder about the word “yankee”. Where did this word come from?
under the weather
Here you go my friend a little phrase request “under the weather” treatment for you.
Tylenal Flu Reliever
Try Again
Marina, here is my latest project/ fan video.. Its good to know we can sort out problems we never even had in the first place isn’t it
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=TlqsDizT77E
given the discussion about apostrophication in this title [y'all look below], Marina, are nightclothes PJs or PJ’s?
no matter…just remember: Why you wear pajamas to bed
Annuder I been there and had that happen to me, but it was a woman. Battalion Commander told me to get her out whether she had clothes on or not. So it was not. I wish I had carried a camera at times like that.
i figured it probably wasn’t all that uncommon…but a picture of it is…
the poor guy was prolly the butt of jokes at the firehouse that week…
word request: Japan
Japanese [until recent history] have always referred to their county as Nihon or Nippon. -pronounced ‘Knee-hone’ and ‘Knee-pone’ (like the ‘pone’ in pony).
How in the world did it turn into Japan? Who named this country Japan? Was he hard of hearing? I would have liked to have been there…
“What is the name of your country?”
“
“Nihon.”
“I see, Japan you say.”
”
hmmm…when growing older (’cause i don’ t think i ever grew “up” ‘cept in heighth), the usage of this phrase always implied being mindful of one’s manners…being polite & quiet in the presence of adults engaged in adult conversation…
so i always assumed it referred to those words somehow…
i’ve never encountered the “alert” or “on top of your game” version of “mind your p’s & q’s”…
anyway, i lean toward the “kids” origins, ’cause that’s the phrase is most often directed toward children…
You know Annuder I forgot about our parents telling us that when we were little ones. You didn’t talk when the grown ups talked. You were quite and sat motionless. Good memory, I have CRS so I chose a different answer.
I think perhaps that, and the pints and quarts meanings, are examples of people taking a saying which is familiar, but which they don’t really understand, and grafting on to it something which is convenient, expedient and, to their minds, logical.
well, i am RIGHT, goshdurnitall!!! So there!!!!…ppppffffffffttttttttttt!!!!…
noon
noon spelled backwards noon
No it’s not. I tried it twice and I get 1200 hundred hours.
Do you really mean 120 thousand hours?
Don’t forget ‘nooner’
Afternoon delight
onno
racecar spelled backwards is racecar.
No-one.
enoon, the present tense of enon?…
Anon … an’ on, and on and on …
In regards of the current approved $700 billion dollar bailout plan. What does the terms ‘Earmarks’ and ‘Pork’ mean? Are there Ears and Pork in the government’s bailout plan?
ok, i’m just gonna ask a random person on HFW
……HOW TE HELL is it possible for the dollar to rise in value when the us has such finacial problems!?!
it’s not that the euro is loosing value or something, i don’t get it!??!
2 months ago orso 1 euro was $1,58 now it’s worth 1,38
Because the U.S. Economy is still better than most.
I guess the government doesn’t have the assets like gold or silver or enough property in there vaults or bonds to cover that amount. So the value of the Euro or dollar reduces in value. My guess only Fox. Say the government has five billion dollars of gold in the reserve, and outstanding debts of 10 billion dollars then actually your money is decreased in value because you don’t have the funds in the reserve to back up the currency..
In other words, the dollar has lost less value than the euro.
Actually, Capman, there is no longer a link between the dollar and gold. And only the default connection between the national debt and what the dollar buys. that is to say that in reality, no currency is worth more than the paper on which it is printed. It only has value because people agree on that value. For example, in 2001, when the dotcom bomb dropped, the stock of the company lost 98% of its value, even though fundamentally, nothing changed about the company, only ppl’s unwillingness to purchase tech-related stocks. Think of money as stock in a country.
As for the relationship to debt, it’s like someone buying my car. I don’t care if it’s from his pocket, or from a loan, as long as I get the agreed sum for the purchase. And if a loan, the lender only cares that he has the ability to repay it.
I hope this helps.
[How Currency Works]
Better explanation than mine.
Are you serious, Captain? or are you making a word request?
That’s correct; both sites are separate from each other.
but do the views of her vids here count at YouTube? I am reluctant to go there for her vids, but would just to do my little part to help out if they are not counted from here.
Word request is what I’m trying for. I know what the words mean. Im just looking for words that are related to current events. It helps miss M’s YT videos move up the list faster.
{wiping sweat from brow}
WHEW!! you had me worried for a moment, there, Captain.
Someone said in a recent post (mijj, I believe) that the viewings here don’t count toward her YouTube patronage as they are two seperate sites… Can you confirm or disprove this?
uhm…. it’s still a video from youtube so it counts it no mather where it is linked…you can even see how many clicks it has gotten from a certain link ,go to youtube and click the “statistics and data” you will see how many clicks it has gotten from every site that it is linked on.
Thanks, Foxbow!
Yea, thats correct foxbow. Thanks for chiming up.
I wasn’t spending much time thinking about how I was answering the question. Im super busy moving off my stuff off the sailboat and getting class ready for next week.
I heard that in the early 1700s (or 1700’s) southern US farmers would write ‘pork’ on barrels of tobacco to avoid export taxes. I haven’t found any confirmation on internet. Hope Marina investigates.
Gorgeous, as always, Marina. I prefer Pints and Quarts, since it’s the only one I’ve heard to be any sort of valid.
WORD REQUEST: Legend. It’s always been a quizzical word to me, since it means such a powerful concept.
Marina,
Hi Doll. Love seeing you in action on Fox News. I would like to get your take on this word “Antibull”. Keep up the good work. You making learning fun.
Antibull
Favorite is “please and thank you”
just seems like the one that would be repeated more often
Hi Marina,
Mind your…? Take care of your…?
Be watchful of your…? Be mindful of your…?
Mind your… own business.
Mind your… manners.
Mind your… beers.
Mind your… typesetting.
Be mindful your probing and questioning? It’s not polite.
hmmm?
ooops!
should be…
Be mindful of your probing and questioning. It’s not polite.
Marina,
I followed your comment at ensey.org, as did one of your prominent students. I hope we have represented our Alma Mater well.
Hi Marina! I would like to know the origins of UNPOLITE as opposed to IMPOLITE. After my daughter was visiting and I correctedher for using the word UNPOLITE, she proved me wrong as the word is listed in the dictionary though I never heard anyone use it in everyday language. So is unpolite really a word? Also where does the word polite come from and does it have to do with politics?
“We’re going to turn this team around 360 degrees.” - Jason Kidd, upon his drafting to the” Now thats funny 360 leaves ya going in the same direction
Oh! so that’s what that means!
Teach not thy parent’s mother to extract
The embryo juices of the bird by suction.
The good old lady can that feat enact,
Quite irrespective of your kind instruction.
Another phrase for hotforwords to investigate;
“You can’t teach your Grandmother to suck eggs.”
bob i agree with what your saying, but when those kind of things are done behind your back on one of your creatures, what to be done the woman is still the grandmother?
in my case mother?
yes and don’t turn something over to look at the bottom just turn it half over.
Homework: There’s a controversy here? I don’t think so…
Pints and Quart
If this were a typesetter’s issue, we’d also hear “mind your b&#