VOA词汇掌故2022--Learn to Be Careful with the Alphabet

And now Words and Their Stories from VOA Learning English.

Today we talk about two expressions involving letters of the alphabet. They both warn us to be careful, and they sound similar. But their meanings are very different.

Here is the first one: to watch our p's and q's.

When we watch our p's and q's, we are on our best behavior. We are careful of our language too – so, no swearing. We do things politely and without causing trouble to others.

The expression is something an older person might say to children. "When you go to school, watch your p's and q's and mind your teachers."

There are several stories about how the expression began.

Some word experts say it comes from people drinking in taverns¹ or bars, places where alcohol is served. Bartenders would keep track of how much people drank by counting their pints² (p's) and quarts³ (q's).

Other experts say the expression comes from the classroom. Schoolchildren were taught to be careful writing the letters "p" and "q," which are easy to confuse.

And other experts say the phrase may come from the early days of the printing press. Letters were set in presses backwards⁴ so they would appear on the printed page correctly. P's and q's needed careful placement.

Now on to our second expression: to dot our i's and cross our t's.

To dot our i's and cross our t's also means to be very careful. But it means to be careful about procedures. We make sure we have followed directions correctly and have done everything the right way.

While it may have its roots in spelling correctly, we use this expression in many situations. For example, when the TikTok star read her contract with an advertising⁵ company, she was careful to dot her i's and cross our t's. She didn't want anything to fall through the cracks. She didn't want to overlook⁶ any small detail that may affect her business.

If you are making a deal or spoken agreement with someone, a friend might warn you to dot your i's and cross your t's. Be careful of the small details. It is common knowledge that the smallest details are often where mistakes are made.

So, that is why it is important to cross your i's and dot your t's.

Now, let's hear two friends use these expressions

A: Are you sure you packed everything?

B: Yes, I'm sure. Please don't ask me again!

A: Well, you usually forget something. Remember last time ... at the airport?

B: Let's not bring up THAT again. I won't forget my passport this time.

A: I just wanted to make sure that we dot all our i's and cross all our t's. By being careful and thorough⁷, we save time and money.

B: Don't you ever get tired of being careful and thorough? Don't you just want to be crazy and impulsive⁸ ... for once in your life? Come on, throw away that list!

A: What are you doing? Give me my list back and behave! Seems like you not only have to dot your i's and cross your t's ... you also need to watch your p's and q's!

And that's all the time we have this Words and Their Stories. Until next time ... I'm Anna Matteo.

Words in This Story

swear –v. to use a commonly offensive⁹ word when you speak

politely –adv. to do something showing good behavior and respect for other people

printing press –n. a machine that prints books, newspapers, magazines, and similar materials in large numbers

procedure –n. a series of actions that are done in a certain way and in an established order to be acceptable¹⁰

thorough –adj. careful about doing something in a correct way

impulsive –adj. doing things without careful though or planning

behave –v. to act in an acceptable or correct way

1 taverns   

n.小旅馆，客栈，酒馆( tavern的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They ain't only two taverns. We can find out quick." 这儿只有两家客栈，会弄明白的。” 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险
• Maybe ALL the Temperance Taverns have got a ha'nted room, hey, Huck?" 也许所有的禁酒客栈都有个闹鬼的房间，喂，哈克，你说是不是？” 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险

2 pints   

n.品脱( pint的名词复数 )；一品脱啤酒

参考例句：

• I drew off three pints of beer from the barrel. 我从酒桶里抽出三品脱啤酒。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Two pints today, please. 今天请来两品脱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 quarts   

夸脱（液体或固体的容积单位）( quart的名词复数 )； 金矿

参考例句：

• A gallon contains four quarts. 一加仑相当于四夸脱。
• Susie cried quarts, I know she did. 苏姗泪流满面，我知道她会这样的。

4 backwards   

adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地

参考例句：

• He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
• All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。

5 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

6 overlook   

v.忽视，忽略，俯瞰，眺望，宽容，宽恕

参考例句：

• How could you overlook paying the rent?你怎么会忘了付房租？
• It was a slight overlook on my part.这是我的一个小疏忽。

7 thorough   

adj. 彻底的，完全的，精心的

参考例句：

• He made a very thorough analysis on the situation.他对形势的分析很透彻。
• The committee reported its findings after a thorough investigation.委员会在彻底调查以后报告了调查结果。

8 impulsive   

adj.冲动的，刺激的；有推动力的

参考例句：

• She is impulsive in her actions.她的行为常出于冲动。
• He was neither an impulsive nor an emotional man,but a very honest and sincere one.他不是个一冲动就鲁莽行事的人，也不多愁善感.他为人十分正直、诚恳。

9 offensive   

adj.令人不快的，侮辱的，攻击用的；n.进攻

参考例句：

• His mode of doing business is offensive to me.他干事情的方式叫我很不喜欢。
• If all else fails,I will take the offensive.如果其他方法不行，我将采取攻势。

10 acceptable   

adj.可接受的，合意的，受欢迎的

参考例句：

• The terms of the contract are acceptable to us.我们认为这个合同的条件可以接受。
• Air pollution in the city had reached four times the acceptable levels.这座城市的空气污染程度曾高达可接受标准的四倍。