The minute I typed on the Q.T. my mind turned to Slang-o-rama. This phrase sounded sort of World War II vintage to me, or maybe the Roaring '20s (the 1920s, that is).
Was I right, or was I wrong?
I was...
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... WRONG!
Turns out, on the Q.T. has a lifeline stretching back into the19th century.
According to The Phrase Finder, on the Q.T. (meaning "on the quiet" or "secretly") is of British origin. Here's what the entry says:
The slang term 'qt' is a shortened form of 'quiet'. There's no definitive source for the phrase 'on the q.t.', although it appears to be of 19th century British origin - not, as is often supposed, American.
The longer phrase 'on the quiet' is also not especially old, but is first recorded somewhat before 'on the qt', in Otago: Goldfields & Resources, 1862: "Unless men can work [the gold] on 'the quiet', they are not likely to make 'piles' so rapidly as Messrs. Hartley and Riley."
As to on the q.t., in The Facts on File Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins, Robert Hendrickson states: "A British broadside ballad (1870) contained the line 'Whatever I tell you is on the Q.T.'" It would be good to know the name of the ballad in order to follow up this assertion. Unfortunately, the author doesn't give it, from which we can only suppose he didn't know it himself. That first record is from new Zealand, but is soon followed by citations from the United Kingdom and the USA....
The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer notes that on the Q.T. was first recorded in 1884.
That means I could probably have a character in one of my Silver Rush books mutter, "This is all on the Q.T., if you please." (But would readers think the phrase anachronistic? Hmmm...)
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| Shhh... It's on the Q.T. Image by Sammy-Sander from Pixabay |
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