phrase

• Be careful to behave well and avoid giving offence.

  ‘she remembered the warning to mind her Ps and Qs and kept quiet’

  More example sentences

  • ‘As such, the stealth stingers tell the bipeds to buzz off and mind their Ps & Qs before the bees make 'em R.I.P.’
  • ‘He's normally a quiet, sensitive little thing (just like his mum) who minds his Ps and Qs and keeps himself to himself.’

  Synonyms

  act correctly, act properly, conduct oneself well, act in a polite way, show good manners, mind one's manners, mind one's Ps and Qs

  Origin

  Of unknown origin; said by some to refer to the care a young pupil must pay in differentiating the tailed letters p and q.