Miss Manners can always be relied upon

(or as she would probably phrase it, "Miss Manners, upon whom one can always rely")

The Divine Miss M

Dear Miss Manners: Could you please educate us on the difference between a living room, sitting room, drawing room, saloon, library, lounge, parlor and boudoir?

Miss Manners

Dear Miss Manners:

What is the proper response to someone who asks, "What do you do every day? What do you do with your time?"

This is an unfortunate attempt to start a conversation, as it implies that the person being queried might be useless. Should you not be willing to overlook this, Miss Manners recommends, "I lie on the couch and read trashy novels and eat bonbons."

I love Miss Manners - like Mrs. Piggle Wiggle, she always knows!

Miss Manners

I find myself in similar situation all the time and one yearns to correct these people:

Dear Miss Manners:
As the communications director for a government agency, I respond to written constituent inquiries. In an effort to personalize my responses, I often excerpt from the original missive. For example, "You're agency stnks!"
Should I correct spelling and grammatical errors from the original correspondence or leave them as is? I hate to fudge a quote, but if I don't correct errors, I am concerned the constituent will think the mistakes are mine, putting my agency in a bad light.
Also, it seems rude to point out someone's errors when they have taken the time to share their concerns. My agency does not yet have a policy regarding this point of professional etiquette.

Response:
But if you correct the quotation, won't the letter writer think, "Stupid bureaucrats -- can't even quote accurately"?
Besides, surely it is a comfort to note that your critics are not, shall we say, discerning.
Miss Manners would consider it polite enough if you preceded the letter writer's words with "as you so colorfully put it . . ."

A Study in Social Mores From the Pages of Edith Wharton

I love Miss Manners, and here she found a reader almost worthy of her!

Children and Miss Manners

Betsy-Tacy fan Perri Klass on rude children.

Miss Manners

Dear Miss Manners:

What's your beef with a cash bar at wedding receptions? Weddings are incredibly expensive, and a couple starting out shouldn't have to go in the hole for thousands of dollars just to throw a reception where Miss Manners and a bunch of other deadbeats can have unlimited liquor. I thought you were a classy broad!
If we should encounter each other at a wedding reception, then your first drink will be on me, and you can hustle the rest yourself! I DARE YOU TO PRINT THIS!

Suppose you go first and explain why anyone would want to stage a thousands-of-dollars event for people whom they think of as deadbeats, and why other people would want to attend the wedding of those who thought that of them. This will give Miss Manners a moment to think of a tactful way of saying that she does not care to drink with you.

I do love Miss Manners!

Miss Manners

I am addicted to Miss Manners, and today she stuck up for English majors! Or at least told us how to turn the other cheek.

She also offers advice for dealing with friends and colleagues who can't put their Blackberries away (I read this with interest since I believe I will get one for my new job so will likely be an offender soon).

Like my mother, she abhors use of the phrase "you guys."

I like this one too:
DEAR MISS MANNERS: I am a physics student and aspiring physicist, and when I answer people's questions about my career plans, I often find myself confronted with a conversation-stopping "You must be so smart!" Despite feeling a little marginalized by this common comment, I realize it is usually intended to be flattering. However, agreeing with this declaration makes me sound arrogant, and disagreeing seems unnecessarily self-effacing. Can you offer any suggestions?
GENTLE READER: "No, if I were really smart, I'd find a way to get on the football team."