Quotes About Etiquette

Bore: a man who is never unintentionally rude.

Be polite write diplomatically even in a declaration of war one observes the rules of politeness.

Polite lies, polite lies! They are the decorous garment, and the fitting food, of the world. To be in the fashion, I shall have to treat you to them before I have done.

Our gentlemen visitors ain't allowed no more than a smile and a squeeze in the public rooms, for I won't 'ave Sodom and Gomorrah under my roof. I always tell my girls, I tell them, 'Ladies, just show the boys enough to give them a proper 'int of what they're in for. And close your door be'ind you when you're entertaining, for a gentleman is easily embarrassed.

He possessed that quality in his profanity of not offending by it.

Dr. MacBride had a manner of saying "pardon me," which rendered forgiveness well-nigh impossible.

How are you? My father could say this quicker than anybody. He was always the first to say how are you, provided the occasion called for it, and he saw his chance. Thanks to this skill, he was made ambassador to England ...

"Sir Jasper Finch-Farrowmere?" said Wilfred."ffinch-ffarrowmere," corrected the visitor, his sensitive ear detecting the capital letters.

Good manners can replace morals. It may be years before anyone knows if what you are doing is right. But if what you are doing is nice, it will be immediately evident.

A hat should be taken off when you greet a lady and left off for the rest of your life. Nothing looks more stupid than a hat.

If there is one thing I dislike, it is the man who tries to air his grievances when I wish to air mine.

It was one of those parties where you cough twice before you speak and then decide not to say it after all.

We must be as courteous to a man as we are to a picture, which we are willing to give the advantage of a good light (p. 41).

Some may say that by being civil to each other we stifled our self-expression. But we can also say that we chose to express one part of ourselves rather than another. Although it may appear that we give up self-expression when we exercise it, in truth restraint can be as much an expression of our Selves as is unfettered behavior. Yes, practicing civility may limit our immediate gratification. That's why we are tempted to be rude (p.24).

yielding our seat on a bus whenever it seems appropriate; alerting the person sitting behind us on a plane when we are about to lower the back of our seat; standing close to the right-side handrail on an escalator; stopping to give directions to someone who is lost; stopping at red lights; disagreeing with poise; yielding with grace when losing an argument, these diverse behaviors are all imbued with the spirit of civility.

Hey, I gotta take a piss. Want to come with me? Said no man ever.

OUR MAGIC WORDS are 'please' and 'thank you'. The French have those, plus two more: 'hello' and 'goodbye'. They're especially zealous about making their children say 'bonjour' as soon as they walk into somebody's house. Children don't get to slouch in under the cover of their parents' greeting.

other people have needs and feelings too – such as the simple need to be acknowledged. Bonjour also sets the tone for a child to observe other rules of civility.

Avoid castigating your child in front of others.

Never give Advice, Unless you are asked for it .

Don't lick the guests, darling. Bad manners.

The trick to going wherever you want unchallenged in a hospital is to walk briskly, nod to the people you know, and ignore the ones you don't. The nod reassures everyone that you are known, the brisk pace that you have a mission and don't want to talk.

Canadian hikers would be too polite to end up as bodies. Thus the bodies must not belong to random hikers.

She glanced surreptitiously at Charles, but he was eating the way he usually did—like a well-mannered starving person who wasn't sure where his next meal with coming from.