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[Markjay]

Found on the Internet:

'Many years ago in Scotland, a new game was invented. It was ruled "Gentlemen Only...Ladies Forbidden"...and thus the word GOLF entered into the English language.'

...is it true, AA?  

[Markjay]

Another one found on the Internet, this one is for the general drinking public:

'In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts... So in old England, when customers got unruly, the bartender would yell at them "Mind your pints and quarts, and settle down." It's where we get the phrase "mind your P's and Q's" '

...is it true?  

[Bo Bo]

Another one found on the Internet, this one is for the general drinking public:

'In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts... So in old England, when customers got unruly, the bartender would yell at them "Mind your pints and quarts, and settle down." It's where we get the phrase "mind your P's and Q's" '

...is it true?  

Well I had nothing better to do at work & came up with this;

Michael Quinion, an etymologist, in "Port Out Starboard Home" says that there isn't enough evidence to tie the phrase "mind your P's and Q's" to any one origin, however, he provides the following possibilities:

An abbreviation of "mind your pleases and thankyous".
Advice to a child learning its letters not to mix up p and q.
Advice to the typesetter not to mix up p and q.
Advice to a barman not to mix up p (Pint) and q (Quart) on the bar tab.
Advice to sailors not to soil their pea-jackets with their tarred queues (pigtails).

 

[Markjay]

Another one found on the Internet, this one is for the general drinking public:

'In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts... So in old England, when customers got unruly, the bartender would yell at them "Mind your pints and quarts, and settle down." It's where we get the phrase "mind your P's and Q's" '

...is it true?  

Well I had nothing better to do at work & came up with this;

Michael Quinion, an etymologist, in "Port Out Starboard Home" says that there isn't enough evidence to tie the phrase "mind your P's and Q's" to any one origin, however, he provides the following possibilities:

An abbreviation of "mind your pleases and thankyous".
Advice to a child learning its letters not to mix up p and q.
Advice to the typesetter not to mix up p and q.
Advice to a barman not to mix up p (Pint) and q (Quart) on the bar tab.
Advice to sailors not to soil their pea-jackets with their tarred queues (pigtails).

 

Very interesting Bo Bo... so how about the following phrases:

(give him) the whole nine yards - supposdely WW1, something to do with the machine-gun feeding strips that were 9 yards each, but I read somewhere that this is not actually true!

It's in the bag - something to do with Parlamaint, votes were collected in a bag I think, not sure

Mad as a hatter - supposdely hatters used to line hat brims with mercury, so became insane due to mercury poisoning

Son of a gun - suggesting that one is the love child of a sailor and prostitute, concieved under a cannon on the gun deck...

Rule of thumb - 'in the 1400's a law was set forth that a man was not allowed to beat his wife with a stick thicker than his thumb.'. Don't know about this one - most men I know are scared of their wives...

Honeymoon - 'It was the accepted practice in Babylon 4,000 years ago that for a month after the wedding, the bride's father would supply his son-in-law with all the mead he could drink. Mead is a honey beer and because their calendar was lunar based, this period was called the honey month, which we know today as the honeymoon.' Sorry, this one sounds duff to me...

Wet your whistle - 'Many years ago in England, pub frequenters had a whistle baked into the rim, or handle, of their ceramic cups. When they needed a refill, they used the whistle to get some service.' mmm... could be

Clean as a whistle, fit as a fiddle,  - no idea on either

So Bo Bo what does your Michael Quinion say abou these?  

[Phil]

Another one found on the Internet, this one is for the general drinking public:

'In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts... So in old England, when customers got unruly, the bartender would yell at them "Mind your pints and quarts, and settle down." It's where we get the phrase "mind your P's and Q's" '

...is it true?  

I heard it was because you didnt pay for the beer as you bought it, it was written down and then paid for at the end of the night, but dodgey bar staff would put a P instead of a Q for the extra money.
Hence mind your Ps and Qs.

Although this maybe total b0llocks  

[Auto Addict]

Found on the Internet:

'Many years ago in Scotland, a new game was invented. It was ruled "Gentlemen Only...Ladies Forbidden"...and thus the word GOLF entered into the English language.'

...is it true, AA?  

Sorry, I only play the game, didn't invent it.....