Robin Barr Sussman

Being asked to tip does not mean that you are required to support the dubious business practices of planting false shame to shift the responsibility to you for providing decent wages. As long as you do not complain about higher prices in establishments with no-tipping policies.

If friendship were defined by longevity (rather than, say, warmth, kindness, or shared interests), we would all have more friends—without being any better off.

People have no business inquiring why you do not drink alcohol, and you do not owe them an explanation. Miss Manners recommends saying, “I don’t care for any, thank you” because it closes the topic.

Judging from the complaints Miss Manners receives from those whose generosity goes unacknowledged, the new norm is to ignore receiving presents while expecting them to continue to be given.

With all the chatterers in the world, Miss Manners would think people should be grateful to encounter someone who doesn’t try to dominate every conversation. Good listeners are rare, and should be cherished.

Common courtesy requires you to respond when someone speaks to you, but it does not require you to answer intrusive questions.

There is a tendency to think that new technology requires entirely new etiquette, when the truth is more incremental.

Miss Manners considers it time to learn that there are some battles not worth fighting.

A restaurant is a place where all diners are entitled to order what they like—without fear of judgement or rebuke.

New protocols can often be deduced from old ones. Placing a mask on the table would be like parking a handkerchief there after blowing one’s nose, and should never be done. Miss Manners realizes this may be meaningless unless anyone happens to remember what a handkerchief is.