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14 hours ago | 
mercurynews.com | Judith Martin |Nicholas Martin |Jacobina Martin
DEAR MISS MANNERS: My wife and I visited a friend and her new partner for the weekend. Her partner drove us to an outing about 20 miles away and went 95 mph on the highway. Despite fearing for our lives, we said nothing. On the way back, however, I politely asked the partner if he could please keep his speed under 80 mph. He immediately turned indignant, got out of the car and told me I should drive and that he would sit in the back with my wife.
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1 day ago | 
mercurynews.com | Judith Martin |Nicholas Martin |Jacobina Martin
DEAR MISS MANNERS: I worked with someone who was uber passive-aggressive and made my life at work difficult. Fortunately, she retired at the end of the semester. There was a retirement gathering for her with cake and coffee, given by her colleagues. I vowed long ago as division chair to never attend a gathering for this individual, so I skipped it. I was confronted and scolded regarding my absence. I didn’t want to lie, so I said there were personal issues that precluded me from attending.
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2 days ago | 
mercurynews.com | Judith Martin |Nicholas Martin |Jacobina Martin
DEAR MISS MANNERS: I would love your thoughts on how to respond firmly to these statements. 1. I have three well-behaved children, but when we go anywhere, people remark, “You have your hands full.” It’s said with a negative tone. I love my kids and don’t want them to hear unwelcome remarks. 2. My husband is a larger person, and oftentimes, random strangers will call him “big guy” or “boss.” I think it’s rude to draw attention to his size.
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3 days ago | 
mercurynews.com | Judith Martin |Nicholas Martin |Jacobina Martin
DEAR MISS MANNERS: Between my husband and me, each of us married previously to other people, we have four children, 11 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. We have been married to each other for almost 25 years. Six of the grandchildren and all of the great-grandchildren have been born during our marriage. I am especially close to some of the grandchildren from his side of the family.
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5 days ago | 
mercurynews.com | Judith Martin |Nicholas Martin |Jacobina Martin
DEAR MISS MANNERS: I had a breast augmentation surgery 20 years ago, for reasons that I still think were good ones. I am not interested in having to justify my choice to anyone, and in any case, it’s not something I could undo even if I wanted to. I’m now single and dating.
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6 days ago | 
mercurynews.com | Judith Martin |Nicholas Martin |Jacobina Martin
DEAR MISS MANNERS: I would be most grateful if you could provide guidance on how to graciously handle two common problems with email. 1. The response, “I never check that account.”What do we do when our correspondence goes into a black hole? A number of people have claimed that the message I sent went to an account that they never check. But they don’t offer a newer or better address. 2. Social correspondents writing from their work accounts.
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1 week ago | 
mercurynews.com | Judith Martin |Nicholas Martin |Jacobina Martin
DEAR MISS MANNERS: I have always struggled to get along with my mother-in-law. We are very different in tastes and temperament. I have tried to be polite and welcoming, to encourage familial bonds and to find some way to make her happy, but nothing I have done has ever been right. She is quite outspoken in her negative opinions, so time with her is a series of insults — all for the purpose of educating and improving me, of course. It seems I am ridiculously hypersensitive for having hurt feelings.
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1 week ago | 
mercurynews.com | Judith Martin |Nicholas Martin |Jacobina Martin
DEAR 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 are 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 | 
nj.com | Judith Martin
DEAR MISS MANNERS: I went to a concert the other night. What’s the etiquette if the cup holder is in the armrest of everyone’s chair, including both end seats? Which cup holder does each person get? I had an argument with the guy next to me. GENTLE READER: It’s the one to your right, just as at the table.
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1 week ago | 
mercurynews.com | Judith Martin |Nicholas Martin |Jacobina Martin
DEAR MISS MANNERS: I went to a concert the other night. What’s the etiquette if the cup holder is in the armrest of everyone’s chair, including both end seats? Which cup holder does each person get? I had an argument with the guy next to me. GENTLE READER: It’s the one to your right, just as at the table. DEAR MISS MANNERS: My son and I have a gentle disagreement about the host’s responsibility at a dinner party or holiday table.
