MISS MANNERS ON RINGS

 SOMETIMES Miss Manners just slays me! Like with this answer.....

Dear Miss Manners: About six months ago, I lost my beloved husband after 34 years of marriage. At the five-month mark, I took off my rings, having realized that they were fairly tight. I’ve decided to leave them off permanently.

This is not a sign that I want to date again or a sign that I didn’t love my husband. It’s simply practical. I’ve been advised that the proper move would have been to wear them on my right hand. I don’t want to wear them on my right hand, and even if I did, doing so would have required all three rings to be resized. What are Miss Manners’ thoughts?

That your advisers should mind their own business.

Miss Manners: All the single ladies...are sick of this question 2SEP25

 Hey Miss Manners, all single men are too. I love your answer!!! 

Miss Manners: All the single ladies...are sick of this question

Single woman is tired of being asked about her plans for marriage.

September 2, 2025 at 12:00 a.m. EDTYesterday at 12:00 a.m. EDT

Column by Judith Martin

, 

Nicholas Martin

 and 

Jacobina Martin

Dear Miss Manners: I’m a single woman who is frequently asked about my plans for marriage. The individuals making these inquiries have no business asking this question, let alone hearing the answer.

I typically smile and change the subject without answering their question. A few times, when particularly startled, I have responded with, “I beg your pardon.”

Is there a more polite way to handle this highly impertinent question?

“If this is a proposal, I am sorry to have to disappoint you.”

SPEAKER PHONE ETIQUETTE

MISS Manners addresses speaker  phone etiquette.....

Dear Miss Manners: Do people owe you the favor of letting you know that you are on speakerphone? It’s often difficult to tell from background sounds.

If someone else is in the room but out of earshot, then speakerphone is probably okay. But if I am telling someone something meant for only their ears, that’s a problem.

In one instance, I started talking about a secret gift, not knowing that the recipient was in the room until the person I’d called told me that I was on speaker. I’d had no idea.

Should I just ask each time I’m on the phone?

One should warn the other person on the phone that they are on speaker for the same reason a good host should smooth the rug when she sees it has curled over and is likely to trip the next guest who passes by: It is less work than picking up the pieces later.

If the people you are calling do not know this, then yes — Miss Manners would get in the habit of asking.

DEAR MISS MANNERS.....

 I like to read Miss Manners ( advice column ) just to make sure I am up on all the ways to offend people.😉 Sometimes she really puts people who feel they have been subjected to bad manners in their place. And sometimes they are funny, like this one...

Dear Miss Manners: Increasingly these days, both men and women wear T-shirts with messages, mottos and insults emblazoned on them. Presumably, at least part of the intent is to communicate something. I enjoy looking at them and trying to decipher the messages.
However, to do so with women may involve a prolonged and possibly unwanted stare at their chests, especially since I am a slow reader. What would Miss Manners recommend in such situations?

Miss Manners agrees that people who turn themselves into billboards must expect to be read. But she finds it disingenuous of you to suggest that T-shirt messages are so long or dense as to require the reader to give them prolonged attention.
You are allowed one glance — and no leaning in closely, even if you are nearsighted. Then move on.

MISS MANNERS ON INFLUENCERS 19JUL24

 

Ms Manners is spot on with this one

Dear Miss Manners: I’ve never heard of “influencers” and don’t know the names of any of them. Who are they influencing and why should I care?

Indeed.