a rare letter in the initial position in Germanic, in part because by Grimm's Law PIE p- became Germanic f-; even with the early Latin borrowings in Old English, -p- takes up a little over 4 pages in J.R. Clark Hall's "Concise Anglo-Saxon Dictionary," compared to 31 pages for B and more than 36 for F. But it now is the third-most-common initial letter in the English vocabulary, and with C and S comprises nearly a third of the dictionary, a testimony to the flood of words that have entered the language since 1066 from Latin, Greek, and French.
To mind one's Ps and Qs (1779), possibly is from confusion of these letters among children learning to write. Another theory traces it to old-time tavern-keepers tracking their patrons' bar tabs in pints and quarts. But see also to be P and Q (1610s), "to be excellent," a slang phrase said to derive from prime quality.
P 词组搭配
mind ones Ps and Qs
见 mind
P 英文释义
1. a multivalent nonmetallic element of the nitrogen family that occurs commonly in inorganic phosphate rocks and as organic phosphates in all living cells; is highly reactive and occurs in several allotropic forms
2. the 16th letter of the Roman alphabet
P 双语例句
1. He signed up as a steward with P&O Lines.
他签约了P&O航运公司，成为了一名乘务员。
来自柯林斯例句
2. Q comes between P and R in the English alphabet.
英语字母表中，Q在P和R之间。
来自《权威词典》
3. At approxi-mately 11:30 p.m., Pollard finally gave his consent to the search.
大概晚上11点半的时候，波拉德最终同意进行搜查。
来自柯林斯例句
4. At about 4.30 p.m. Audrey arrived at the office.
大约下午4点30分，奥德丽到了办公室。
来自柯林斯例句
5. By the third lap Kinkead had touched 289 m.p.h.
到第三圈时，金基德的车速达到了每小时289英里。
来自柯林斯例句
P 实用场景例句
He signed up as a steward with P&O Lines.
他签约了P&O航运公司，成为了一名乘务员。
柯林斯例句
At about 4.30 p.m. Audrey arrived at the office.
大约下午4点30分，奥德丽到了办公室。
柯林斯例句
By the third lap Kinkead had touched 289 m.p.h.
到第三圈时，金基德的车速达到了每小时289英里。
柯林斯例句
A selection of correspondence from P G Wodehouse realised £ 1,232. P.G.
沃德豪斯的书信选集卖了1,232英镑。
柯林斯例句
By Friday at 5:30 p.m., I still hadn't heard from Lund.
直到周五下午5点半，我仍未收到伦德的消息。
柯林斯例句
The Visitor Centre is open daily 8.30 a.m. – 4.30 p.m.
游客中心每日上午8：30至下午4：30开放。
柯林斯例句
At six p.m. large groups poured from the numerous offices.
下午6点钟大群大群的人从无数办公楼里蜂拥而出。
柯林斯例句
He was delighted to coax the monoplane to 330 m.p.h.
这架单翼飞机在他的摆弄下时速达到了每小时330英里，他感到很高兴。
柯林斯例句
See p. 246 for Thom Bean's response.
汤姆·比恩的答复见246页.
柯林斯例句
The meeting began at precisely 4.00 p.m.
会议于下午4点整开始。
柯林斯例句
P&G applied for a patent on its cookies.
宝洁公司为它的饼干申请专利权。
柯林斯例句
The guide costs £0.95 (inc. p & p).
那本指南0.95英镑（含邮资及包装费）。
柯林斯例句
See Note 16 on p. 223.
参见第223页的注释16。
柯林斯例句
Q comes between P and R in the English alphabet.
英语字母表中，Q在P和R之间。
《牛津高阶英汉双解词典》
There is no parking here between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m.
