Quotes About Etiquette

In England I am always madam; I arrived too late to ever be a miss. In New York I have only been madamed once, by the doorman at the Carlyle Hotel.

Surely an American doesn't want to get it wrong; if there is anything that England stands for, with its quiet central squares, its tweeds and twin sets and teas, the tight-lipped precision of its speech, it is that there is a right way to do things. This is where the right way has its ancestral home.

Well, then, he said, I hope you are good-tempered; I do not like any one next door who bites.

If we can only speak to slander our betters, let us hold our tongues.

When a lady condescends to apologise, there is no keeping one's anger.

When we had surmounted the acclivity, I was about to withdraw my arm from his, but by a slight tightening of the elbow was tacitly informed that such was not his will, and accordingly desisted.

What a tiresome custom that is, by the by - one among the many sources of factitious annoyance of this ultra civilised life. If the gentlemen must lead the ladies into the dining-room, why cannot they take those they like best?

A dinner made up wholly of young people is generally stupid.

If you are going to refuse, do so at once, but remember that a dinner once accepted is a sacred obligation. If you die before the dinner takes place, your executor must attend the dinner

He had beautiful manners. Which, if you ask me, was mostly a question of saying nothing, to anyone, ever.

I come from the sort of family in which, at the age of ten, I was told I must always say hoi polloi , never the hoi polloi , because hoi meant the, and two the's were redundant -- indeed something only hoi polloi would say.

Only the language of civilized people may be spoken, thus no German.

Little children, such as Anne, must never, ever correct their elders, no matter how many blunders they make or how often they let their imaginations run away with them.

to get back to the subject of raising children, yesterday a silence fell after Mrs. van D. finished her little speech. Father then replied, "I think Anne is very well brought up. At least she's learned not to respond to your interminable sermons. As far as the vegetables are concerned, all I have to say is look who's calling the kettle black." Mrs.

Well, go on then, Abby; run along and let the nice man compromise you.

How did you ask a man, Oh, by the way, did you ask me to marry you the other day or were you merely suggesting I become your mistress? Formality was the key to surviving this, she hoped.

The duke arched an eyebrow. "She is not one of your…er…" Gideon laughed again. "Oh, good Lord, no, she is not one of my ers.

Rule 1: When all else fails, follow instructions. And Rule 2: Don't be an asshole.

Killashandra steeled herself for yet another protocologically correct reception.

Without the discipline of work, they had invented the discipline of etiquette, and it had become just as ruthless a master.

It is not appropriate for ladies to speak too much at table," she explained. "They should listen, respond appropriately, and ask after interests, welfare, and so on. If a gentleman wishes to talk, and usually they do, you listen as if fascinated, and never ask questions to which you suspect he does not know the answer.

Never, in any circumstance, should you raise your voice, or try to assert your opinions in the hearing of gentlemen, and do not attempt to appear clever or strong-minded; it is dangerous, and makes them extremely uncomfortable.

Amazing what the British do with language; the nuances of politeness. The world's great diplomats, surely.

He was appropriately horrified and gave me a reproving glance, as if to say you needn't have told me that! But he was far too polite to say a word.