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Dignified Pauper
06-19-2006, 01:02 AM
Does anyone know what this means? Further, can we just state our favorite old-saying. What have you heard the older generation say that you simply don't understand.


I think we all know what my favorite one is *snicker*

Black Angel
06-19-2006, 01:07 AM
Hay is for horses...^^;;; Stupid.

Hawkeye
06-19-2006, 01:08 AM
I get made fun of for saying "here, here!" When I agree with someone. People think I'm old or something. What's even funnier is that sometimes I'll say, "I need a belt," and my friends say "There's one in my closet." That's not what I'm saying!

SammieBabe
06-19-2006, 01:08 AM
"Heavens to Betsy!"
Who the hell is Betsy and what makes her so great?

Psychotic
06-19-2006, 01:11 AM
Yes, Dignified, I do. It means "be polite you foul-mouthed little so-and-so."

And you ought to, because they fought in a war, you know.

Chris
06-19-2006, 01:35 AM
"Oh, golly".

Who actually say that today?

Resha
06-19-2006, 01:52 AM
P's and Q's = pleasies and thank yous, I think.

OH, Enid Blytons. :rolleyes2 I have an arsenal of sayings which I will drag up, soon.

G SpOtZ
06-19-2006, 01:55 AM
Mind your F's and B's.


I just wanted to use those letters because they're ugly letters.

Anaisa
06-19-2006, 02:10 AM
Recently I've heard Load's of old grannies keep saying as the actress said to the bishop. I never took any notice to what they were rambling about, an then last week I realised that they were adding that to something they'd just said, to form a dirty joke. After noticing this I'm now repulsed by the filth that resides in their dirty old minds. I've been scarred for life, I should sue. But the law favours grannies to youngsters, so they'd probably be allowed to compensate me with stale own brand custard creams.

Elite Lord Sigma
06-19-2006, 02:20 AM
I've heard that mind your P's and Q's originally was used by bartenders to remind them not to drink too many pints (P's) and quarts (Q's) of alcoholic beverages.

Anyway, my favorite saying is, "Carpe diem!", which translates to, "Seize the day!"

-N-
06-19-2006, 02:31 AM
"Reformat and reinstall Windows" - Dr Unne

I Took the Red Pill
06-19-2006, 02:32 AM
"Let's just play it by ear."

KentaRawr!
06-19-2006, 02:39 AM
"Would you like some candy?"

They didn't have any, so it didn't make sense. Weirdos. :sweatdrop

rubah
06-19-2006, 02:50 AM
Lands' sakes!

MageLuingil
06-19-2006, 02:53 AM
"Mind your P's and Q's" referrs to when people used to have important company over; you're supposed to be careful to enunciate properly around your dignified guests, and say characters like 'p' and 'q' carefully.

This isn't an outdated one, but everyone around here always says "Oh my heck!" What is that supposed to mean...!?

Jebus
06-19-2006, 03:17 AM
To mind you P's and Q's refers to the old days of moveable type, where a lowercase q and lowercase p look similar, and some apprentices would mix them up.

That's what I've heard at least.

fire_of_avalon
06-19-2006, 03:35 AM
Oh man, I love these things. One of my personal favorites right now is "scattered to hell and breakfast."

Dignified Pauper
06-19-2006, 04:29 AM
To mind you P's and Q's refers to the old days of moveable type, where a lowercase q and lowercase p look similar, and some apprentices would mix them up.

That's what I've heard at least.

wouldn't G's have looked different too? Further, moveable type added the little tail-swish on the q's

Acid Raine
06-19-2006, 04:33 AM
good grief! is my favorite.

Jebus
06-19-2006, 04:33 AM
To mind you P's and Q's refers to the old days of moveable type, where a lowercase q and lowercase p look similar, and some apprentices would mix them up.

That's what I've heard at least.

wouldn't G's have looked different too? Further, moveable type added the little tail-swish on the q's

*shrug* I dunno. I just heard that somewhere.

And to learn your ropes came from the navy. Stuff like that.

Acid Raine
06-19-2006, 04:39 AM
*inspects book* It says here the Ps and Qs thing started in English bars. Heres the direct quote:

"In English pubs, ale was ordered by pints and quarts. Unruly patrons were admonished by the bartender to "mind your pints and quarts" or "mind your Ps and Qs." "

farplaner
06-19-2006, 06:09 AM
"Well, [smurf] me running!" That always sounded like a lot of fun.

or, "You're such a card!" :rolleyes2

Shaun
06-19-2006, 10:28 AM
Er, by saying "P's and Q's" you're making that singular. In fact, that makes no sense at all.

Ps and Qs?

*scrolls up and sees how many others have made the same mistake*

Pay more attention in English lesson! ;)

Slade
06-19-2006, 11:20 AM
Hmmm...the 'P' and 'Q' thing might be referring to lower case 'p's' and 'q's' and how they are basically mirror images of one another.....if this is the case then 'Mind your P's and Q's' basically means to watch when you write them and make sure you don't mix them up??? heheh.....probably not but thats how I saw it :rolleyes2

'Sew a button on a spider' is an annoying one my mum says every now and then.......it's basically used as a comeback. Someone will say 'So', then she responds with 'a button on a Spider'. How irritating :mad:

Loony BoB
06-19-2006, 11:25 AM
I apparently use a lot of old-fashioned sayings and odd sayings, but I never realise it until foa giggles.

~SapphireStar~
06-19-2006, 11:29 AM
"You cant run with the foxes and the hounds." According to my grandma it means you cant have things both ways.

Itsunari 2000
06-19-2006, 01:37 PM
" I don't want any more syrup on my DAAAAMN pancakes ! "

* crosses arms and snorts with grumpy finality *

Jess
06-19-2006, 01:47 PM
"Not just a hat rack, my friend!" - my boyfriend said that to me the other day and I found it hilarious because I thought 'Who on earth says that?' the next day one of my friends said it aswell! :jess:

For those of you who love these things, like foa, you might like this huge collection of them: Clickkk! (http://newtontxnetwork.com/tour/oldsay/) :laugh:

Levian
06-19-2006, 02:40 PM
Guri land og rike.

I guess it makes even less sense to you crazy foreigners.

Cz
06-19-2006, 08:45 PM
"You can't have your cake and eat it too". It's crap on so many levels. :p

SammieBabe
06-19-2006, 09:40 PM
"You can't have your cake and eat it too". It's crap on so many levels. :p

I know! What the hell is the point of having cake that you can't eat!

Dignified Pauper
06-19-2006, 09:54 PM
*lower's a boom on Cbc for making such things seem absurd when they are clearly ridiculous.*

oddler
06-21-2006, 12:49 AM
The one that gets me is "What the hell?" I don't understand the sentence structure or know the origin of the saying. If someone could explain either, I'd be appreciative.

Acid Raine
06-21-2006, 05:14 AM
I think a brain cell dies every time I hear "Oh baloney!"

Madonna
06-21-2006, 08:52 AM
If wishes were horses, we'd all be eating steak.

Acid Raine
06-21-2006, 10:15 PM
Does anyone know what this means? Further, can we just state our favorite old-saying. What have you heard the older generation say that you simply don't understand.

I own a book titled Do Fish Drink Water?, Puzzling and Improbable Questions and Answers,written and compiled by Bill McLain. The relevence of mentioning that it was written by Bill McLain is this:

Bill McLain was recognized as a leading expert in searching for information and services on the Internet. As Webmaster for Xerox, Bill lived up to an unusaul commitment he made to answer every e-mail with a real answer within 24 hours, a feat that gained him international attention and inspired his nationally syndicated radio show.

According to this book, "Mind your P's and Q's!" means the following:

In early times, patrons of English pubs would often run a bar tab. To keep track of how much a patron owed, the bartender would keep a tally of the pints (p's) and quarts (q's) of beer each parton had consumed. If the bill became too high, the bartender would tell the patron, "Mind your P's and Q's!" In other words, "Pay up!"

That is how the book stated it, and thus, that is what I choose to believe.

See? See? I TOLD you! My (different) book says that, too! Its called "Why do Donuts have Holes?. Its a book with a bunch of weird crap about the food we eat.

abrojtm
06-21-2006, 10:25 PM
Er, by saying "P's and Q's" you're making that singular. In fact, that makes no sense at all.

Ps and Qs?

*scrolls up and sees how many others have made the same mistake*

Pay more attention in English lesson! ;)
According to <u>Eats, Shoots & Leaves</u>, a book about punctuation by Lynn Truss, apostrophes are used to indicate the plurals of letters and also some words such as "What are the do's and dont's?"
"Are there too many but's and and's at the beginnings of sentences these days?"
"I made straight A's this semester."

Old sayings I hate?
Stop dawdling.