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1 week ago | 
washingtonpost.com | Judith Martin |Nicholas Martin |Jacobina Martin
, Nicholas Martin and Jacobina MartinDear Miss Manners: I am part of a group of six college friends from 50 years ago. We stay in touch by texting often, and getting together in person every few years. We are spread out geographically, but one friend and I am just a few miles apart and have always seen each other more often. I was to stop by this friend's house to pick something up, and I texted her my expected arrival time.
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1 week ago | 
washingtonpost.com | Judith Martin |Nicholas Martin |Jacobina Martin
, Nicholas Martin and Jacobina MartinDear Miss Manners: I have been taking time off work to help care for my father, who has incurable cancer. To clients I don’t know well, I’ve said, “I’ll be out of town to help my dad, who is sick.”They almost invariably reply, “I hope he feels better soon.” I know they mean well, and I usually manage to take it that way. But that doesn't stop it from feeling like a gut punch, because I know he is only going to feel worse over the few months he has left.
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1 week ago | 
washingtonpost.com | Judith Martin |Nicholas Martin |Jacobina Martin
, Nicholas Martin and Jacobina MartinDear Miss Manners: Would you consider it rude to bring an additional dish to a dinner, even if it wasn’t requested? This is for an Easter dinner, so it is a meal in which the dishes are meant to be special. When I asked what I could contribute, I was asked to bring a side.
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1 week ago | 
washingtonpost.com | Judith Martin |Nicholas Martin |Jacobina Martin
, Nicholas Martin and Jacobina MartinDear Miss Manners: What exactly are the rules for saving seats at an informal event where seats are not assigned? When I was invited to my nephew's martial arts presentation, I arrived half an hour early to save seats for my family of five (three of us were present) because the others were coming from work and couldn't arrive early.
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1 week ago | 
washingtonpost.com | Judith Martin |Nicholas Martin |Jacobina Martin
, Nicholas Martin and Jacobina MartinDear Miss Manners: My company has a return to office four days a week mandate this year. While it’s nice to have the in-person camaraderie, co-workers who are conspicuously ill are coming in and spreading their contagion. (My company provides a generous two weeks of “occasional absence,” which may be used for sick days, doctor appointments and such.) No one says anything. I am now sick (at home).
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2 weeks ago | 
washingtonpost.com | Judith Martin |Nicholas Martin |Jacobina Martin
, Nicholas Martin and Jacobina MartinDear Miss Manners: I’m no more a fan of call waiting than Miss Manners is, but I do want to defend its limited utility. I was co-owner and manager of a small business for several years, and I frequently had to act as receptionist by answering our office phone. If I'm on the phone and call waiting sounds, I ask Party A to wait 15 seconds while I check my other line.
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2 weeks ago | 
washingtonpost.com | Judith Martin |Nicholas Martin |Jacobina Martin
, Nicholas Martin and Jacobina MartinDear Miss Manners: I am curious what the etiquette is at a gathering when music is playing in a friend’s home on the voice-controlled device. Is it OK for a guest to speak directly to the device to ask it to play a song? Many of us remain skeptical of manufacturers’ claims that if only we keep paying for upgrades, tomorrow’s devices will be smarter than the dimmest cat.
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2 weeks ago | 
washingtonpost.com | Judith Martin |Nicholas Martin |Jacobina Martin
, Nicholas Martin and Jacobina MartinDear Miss Manners: I work as an usher at a popular field house that hosts a large number of sporting and entertainment events (concerts, comedy shows, etc.). One of the rules is that we are not allowed to accept tips. On occasion, a guest will offer a tip, usually for something I have done above and beyond simply helping them find their seat.
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2 weeks ago | 
washingtonpost.com | Judith Martin |Nicholas Martin |Jacobina Martin
, Nicholas Martin and Jacobina MartinDear Miss Manners: From the files of “good manners run amok,” is it ever impolite to be friendly? I work in a bustling environment where my sole 30-minute break is in a shared break room, where I like to read or just eat quietly and enjoy the peacefulness.
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2 weeks ago | 
washingtonpost.com | Judith Martin |Nicholas Martin |Jacobina Martin
, Nicholas Martin and Jacobina MartinDear Miss Manners: My husband got a new job, and as a way to get to know his new co-workers, we decided to host a holiday party at our house. We invited the people he works closest with, his immediate boss, and everyone’s spouses. It was about 10 people in all. I am not used to being a hostess, but put a great deal of effort, time and money into the food and decorations. We had turkey, ham and many sides and desserts. The spread was impressive and beautiful.
