Sneezing into your sleeve
Dear Miss Manners: With all due respect to urgent demands of public health—yuck! (Updated: 10/18/09 6:41 AM )
Miss Manners: A request for money is begging
Dear Miss Manners: I am a moderately successful novelist. Things are a bit dicey for me financially, mostly because I am appallingly incompetent when it comes to money management. (Updated: 10/15/09 8:06 AM )
Miss Manners: Convictions collide with manners
Dear Miss Manners: Occasionally, the rules of etiquette conflict with my religious and moral convictions. When this happens, is there a way I can signal this to new acquaintances? (Updated: 10/13/09 8:04 AM )
What’s in a name?
Dear Miss Manners: I discovered a Bible that belonged to my great-great-grandmother, and, as I have an avid interest in our family genealogy, I was thrilled! I am curious, however, about the form of her name that was engraved on the cover of the bible, “Mrs. Catharine Bowers.” (Updated: 10/11/09 7:19 AM )
Miss Manners; You get what you pay for
Dear Miss Manners: My problem is with dear friends of ours. The husbands have known each other since before kindergarten, and the four of us have been close for years. (Updated: 10/08/09 8:04 AM )
Miss Manners: Speak up if teacher is wrong
Dear Miss Manners: I am a student who really takes her studies seriously. I am academically inclined and enjoy learning, and so I do a lot of extra reading on my own time. Unfortunately, this puts me in an awkward situation: I often notice my teachers’ errors. (Updated: 10/06/09 7:56 AM )
Handle ex’s gal with grace
Dear Miss Manners: I am at a loss as to how to handle my ex-husband’s girlfriend. She and my husband were together many times before the end of our marriage, and I see her as a home wrecker in the least and unprintable names at the worst. (Updated: 10/04/09 7:13 AM )
Miss Manners: Wedding boycott has a bad ring
Dear Miss Manners: My younger brother (45 years old) is getting married for the third time. After his first divorce was final, he married a woman he had known for less than three months. (Updated: 10/01/09 8:32 AM )
Responding to pitiful comments
Dear Miss Manners: I have recently become disabled due to MS. Depending on the day, I use a cane, crutches or a wheelchair. (Updated: 09/29/09 6:54 AM )
Get to know new mother
Dear Miss Manners: Our son has just learned that he is the father of a 4-month-old child. Mother and father are not together. (Updated: 09/27/09 6:33 AM )
House sitters battle fleas
Dear Miss Manners: My boyfriend and I have been house-and dog-sitting for our friends. They were kind enough to leave us money for food and to offer the contents of their pantry. (Updated: 09/24/09 7:37 AM )
Miss Manners: Confused over shaking hands
Dear Miss Manners: When I was a young boy, my father stressed upon me that gentlemen shake hands—always— with the right hand—much like soldiers always salute with the right hand. (Updated: 09/22/09 8:10 AM )
Finding the proper address
Dear Miss Manners: How do you address mail to a same-sex married couple? I believe I should use the same formality that I do when addressing mail to an opposite sex couple, but I am not sure. (Updated: 09/20/09 6:50 AM )
Miss Manners: Wedding invite wasn’t one after all
Dear Miss Manners: After attending the first of many weddings we were invited to, we have been made aware of a new trend. Or, maybe it is an old trend that we were just unaware of. (Updated: 09/17/09 7:57 AM )
Miss Manners: Don’t announce bathroom breaks
Dear Miss Manners: My girlfriend and I live 1,000 miles apart and have been friends for 37 years. When the two of us are on the phone, is it OK to say I am going to the restroom and then proceed to go to the restroom? Again, Miss Manners, please take into consideration the longevity and closeness of the relationship. (Updated: 09/15/09 7:43 AM )