manners news stories on Newser

Germans Say Nein to Kissing at Work

Mark Russell — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 14:13:05 CDT

It may be common in France, but a kiss on the cheek has no place in Germany, says the Knigge Society, a group that advises on social behavior and etiquette. It says it has received numerous complaints on the subject, and wants to remind Germans to stick with a handshake—...

New Phone Etiquette: Don't Call Anyone

Mark Russell — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 07:53:26 CDT

Smartphones are the most important accessories in our lives, good for doing just about anything—except actually calling people, writes Pamela Paul in the New York Times . In fact, phone use in general is way down over the past five years, reports Paul, so much so that when her phone...

'Dear' Has Gone the Way of the Dinosaur

Evann Gastaldo — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 14:29:21 CST

Dear reader: If starting your correspondence with the word “dear” seems just a bit too familiar to use, you’re not alone. The long-penned salutation appears to be headed for extinction, thanks in part to the proliferation of informal communication like email, the Wall Street Journal reports. Even one spokesperson for...

How to Confront an iPhone Addict ... Politely

Evann Gastaldo — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 11:14:55 CDT

Sarah Lorge Butler cannot believe she needs to remind us of this, but “it’s not polite to use a BlackBerry or iPhone at the table. Ever,” she writes for CBS . After running into two situations—one involving a friend, the other a stranger—in which she wanted to confront the...

How Not to Be Boring

Emily Rauhala — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 13:55:00 CDT

Are you a bit of a dullard? Me, too. Thankfully, the folks at Esquire have put together a guide to being cool. Well, cool er . Here are some of their tips for the socially challenged: First of all, just don't be boring: If what you're saying is making your own...

How to Dine Like a Gentleman

Evann Gastaldo — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 09:37:07 CDT

Looking to impress your future in-laws at a fancy dinner out? Follow John Mariani’s 39 steps for how to dine out like a gentleman, from Esquire : "A gentleman never has more than one cocktail before dinner." "A gentleman never takes more than one minute to decide on his meal." "A...

When Did We Stop Saying 'You're Welcome'?

Kate Schwartz — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 07:17:21 CDT

Matt Zoller Seitz has a problem with "no problem." The phrase has replaced "you're welcome" about as definitively as cars replaced the horse and buggy, and it irks him "to an extent that cannot be captured in print without the use of capital letters, boldface, italics and multiple exclamation points....

Artist Gives NYC's Subway Riders a Lesson in Manners

Rob Quinn — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 10:13:43 CDT

Call him the 21st-century Emily Post: Artist Jason Shelowitz is out to teach New York City subway riders that groping, sneezing, preaching, and littering is totally uncool. Shelowitz quizzed passengers on their pet peeves and made the top 10 into pretty humorous posters in the style of the transit authority's...

Dear Santa, Send Me a Mom (Not Clothes)

Jane Yager — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 05:06:48 CST

Some are funny, some are sad; some ask for a microscope, some to be transformed into an elf; but the one thing kids writing letters to Santa agree on is: no clothes. So says a professor who analyzed more than 1,200 letters sent to Santa, from one child's heart-wrenching...