While the source of some idioms requires a lot of research, mind your Ps and Qs is one that has bunches of claimed origins. One refers to teaching kids how to print, when they needed to make sure the line was correctly placed by the circle for the letters p and q. Then again, the line also needs to be on the correct side for b’s and d’s, but you never hear “mind your b’s and d’s,” do you?

Another origin is also associated with teaching kids, but this time they were reminded to mind their “pleases and thank-yous.” When teachers and parents got exhausted after eight million reminders, “pleases” got shortened to “Ps” and thank-yous became just “Qs.” You wonder if the kids ever listened.

Another origin is from the days of typesetters with the tedious job of picking out letters one by one from the printer’s type box to make words that made sentences that eventually made a printed page. Looking at mirror image type could make someone easily mix up their p’s and q’s, although I suspect the people doing this job had an extraordinary ability to work long periods with strangely detailed attention. In fact, typesetters were likely the only group of workers to be relieved when technology put them out of a job.

But my bet is that this idiom was born in taverns in the 1600s. You may have heard that barkeeps needed to watch how many Ps and Qs, or pints and quarts, they were serving customers so the tab would be correct. More likely, it was the bartenders telling rowdy customers to watch their intake of Ps and Qs or they would have to call a horse to take them home.

My days of getting rowdy in bars are decades in the past, but memories came back when Carol the instigator proposed we gather a group to go see a local singer perform at a famous biker bar in a nearby town. We wanted to support our neighborhood talent, and most of us drove past this bar for many years wondering what it would be like to actually go inside. The plan took hold and a bunch of women of a certain age started searching storage boxes on closet shelves for black tee shirts. Our quiet Caroline surprised us with her history as a biker chic and assured us that biker bars were awesome as she offered a wide assortment of temporary tattoos for the girls’ night out.

We were all excited about this adventure to a self-described “Landmark Biker Bar” with 26 years in business. Our first sighting past a row of large, shiny, customized motorcycles was the joint’s rules requiring pants be pulled up to be served and announcing happy hour started at 7 a.m. Beer was icy cold and value priced, so all good on that front. Alex played her guitar and sang country songs with a clear and beautiful voice. A few folks from the audience were welcomed on stage to join her for their favorites, some with lovely voices, one who harmonized well with the main draw, and others with enough chutzpah to overcome a lack of talent. All were thanked with applause. Alex gave a shout-out to a few veterans who spent lots of hours raising lots of money for a good cause, and they got lots of cheers from the admiring crowd along with thanks for their service.

And there we were—ladies from the book club, water aerobics class and pickleball courts mingling easily with the biker bar’s regular customers who were very welcoming. Group photos were taken in front of the large-busted pirate wench statue and posted to show the world just how cool we were. Everyone was minding their Ps and Qs and it made for an enjoyable and memorable evening.

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