p's and q's

P p

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA

Definitions of p's and q's words

noun p's and q's manners; behavior; conduct (usually preceded by mind or watch): The children were told to mind their p's and q's. 1
noun plural p's and q's behaviour within social conventions; manners (esp in the phrase to mind one's p's and q's) 0

See all 2 definitions of p's and q's

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Origin of p's and q's

First appearance:

before 1770

One of the 46% newest English words

First recorded in 1770-80; perhaps from some children's difficulty in distinguishing the two letters

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for P's and q's

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of P's and q's

p's and q's popularity

A pretty common term. Usually people know it’s meaning, but prefer to use a more spread out synonym. About 31% of English native speakers know the meaning and use word.

According to our data about 62% of words is more used. This is a rare but used term. It occurs in the pages of specialized literature and in the speech of educated people.

Synonyms for p's and q's

noun p's and q's

concordat — a pact or treaty, esp one between the Vatican and another state concerning the interests of religion in that state
conventionalism — advocacy of or conformity to that which is established
formalism — strict adherence to, or observance of, prescribed or traditional forms, as in music, poetry, and art.
formality — condition or quality of being formal; accordance with required or traditional rules, procedures, etc.; conventionality.
good behavior — satisfactory, proper, or polite conduct.

All 8 Synonyms of p's and q's