Or should she back down? GENTLE READER: No. Yes. But isn’t your real question: How do I get this cousin to stop pestering me?

GENTLE READER: No doubt. You might ask your husband how he would feel about a male co-worker who purchased expensive jewelry ...

Am I being rude? GENTLE READER: No — your daughter is being overly fastidious, as daughters sometimes are. But you could also ...

Dear Miss Manners: I was walking in the humanities building of the university where I am a graduate student. I turned the corner of the hallway that leads to the offices and saw one of my professors ...

DEAR MISS MANNERS: At a restaurant, I laid my credit card on the table to signal we were ready to pay. My daughter said that ...

Miss Manners: How do we introduce our ex-son-in-law and his girlfriend ... How can I help my daughter who is embarking upon ...

From my friends’ moms (“You’re too young for gray hair!”) to professors (“You should really dye your hair; you look so old”) ...

Years later, my father died suddenly. My uncle was supportive to me then, and my boyfriend was cordial to him as a kindness ...

Or should she back down? GENTLE READER: No. Yes. But isn’t your real question: How do I get this cousin to stop pestering me? Miss Manners has an answer for that one, too, which is, “You know, I’m not ...

An apology for past racist jokes would be nice, but the letter writer’s uncle won’t even admit he made them. Dear Miss ...

If I bring a food item that I prepared, and it turns out that someone else brought a similar item, is it impolite for the ...

So far, I have taken a deep breath, sent a gift and talked about them behind their backs -- like decent people do.