P's and Q's or Ps and Qs and why?

[BumperliciousAteTooManyEggs]

Just been on another thread and I posted "Ps and Qs" and another poster "P's and Q's". The latter looks right but I don't know why, can anyone explain?

Ps and Qs.

Cos its a plural. P's and Q's would mean 'belonging to P and Q'

I think...

plurals do NOT have apostrophes so therefore Ps and Qs is correct.

Ps and Qs. Plural.

Well it means pleases and thank yous doesn't it?

so technically it should be P's and 'Q's (possibly) - I doubt whether there is a right or wrong answer.

Message withdrawn

but you are also missing letters which generally denotes an apostrophe doesn't it?

eg - isn't

I was going to say with - for the reasons wisteria says, parts of the words are missing so you'd (like in the example of you'd) expect an apostrophe....

But might not be ....

Yes it's def Ps and Qs. It's a common mistake just like 1940's instead of 1940s, but without apostrophe is correct, because it is a plural.

Hmmm, no consensus, I thought there would be a right or wrong answer...

It's an abbreviation though........still slang technically though so not 'right' either way

Anorak surely that is true if you are saying "in the 1940s" but not if you are saying a "1940's tea dress"?

yes quite but shouldn't it be traditional rules of grammar

yes.........and not for the first time

Wiki is a bit like the Encyclopedia Galactica... it contains much that is apocryphal or wildly innacurate!