Search: on the qt
Why: Ross won't tell Monica & Chandler what he is planning for their wedding because he's keeping it "on the QT." As far as I know, QT only stands for "quality time," though the abbreviation term "on the DL" (down low) would be applicable here.
Answer: "On the quiet." There's no definitive source for the phrase, though it appears to be of 19th century British origin - not 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:
Source: Phrases.org.uk"Unless men can work [the gold] on 'the quiet', they are not likely to make 'piles' so rapidly as Messrs. Hartley and Riley."
The More You Know: On my drive home from work tonight, I cracked myself up thinking about a guy trying to make money for dental school by moonlighting as a rapper named Toof D.K.
i believe it's 'quiet tip'.
ReplyDeletehttp://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/001250.html
ctm toof d.k. i used to pass a dentist's office in chinatown on my bus ride to work called 'dr. toothy's'. also, i like to schedule my dentist appts for 'tooth hurty pm'.
Quiet tip? What the shit is that supposed to mean! I wish everyone would just say "the hush hush" and call it a day.
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