SC - SCA, and cookies too

[The Davidsons]

>"Mind your P's and Q's." was a rule to printers. The printing blocks were
>backward
>so that the reverse image was correct on the page.  Apprentice printers
>frequently got
>the lower-case P's and Q's mixed up.
>
>"Minding one's P's and Q's" meant to keep your mind on the work and not get
>distracted.
>
>Yers,
>
>Gunthar
>
Reasonable.  Modern type, at least that which I am familiar with, has a
double groove in the edge the the typesetter sees as they drop the type
in the L-stick.  This lets you do a quick check on proper positioning
and the evenness of the type, a short or long shaft on the type really
stands out.

When these grooves were added, I don't know, but I expect they are only
a hundred years old at most.  

The sample of Gutenberg's type I've seen didn't have any markings to aid
in positioning the type, which is also true of the wooden printing
blocks I've seen.  So, "mind your P's and Q's," is very likely a
printer's aphorism.

>Bear
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