Quotessence
Home / Books / Common courtesy: in which Miss Manners solves the problem that baffled Mr. Jefferson

Common courtesy: in which Miss Manners solves the problem that baffled Mr. Jefferson

Book by Judith Martin · 4 quotes · Manners, People, Believe

Filter quotes by topic

AllMannersPeopleBelieveEtiquetteIdeasMiss MannersChallengesCodeFacesFeelsKnowsLanguageMeanShouldStrangerTasksAbilityAcceptedAdvantageAll Time

Common courtesy: in which Miss Manners solves the problem that baffled Mr. Jefferson Quotes

“The idea that people can behave naturally, without resorting to an artificial code tacitly agreed upon by their society, is as silly as the idea that they can communicate by a spoken language without commonly accepted semantic and grammatical rules.”

PeopleIdeasLanguageCommunicateAcceptedSillyMannersCodeBehaveArtificialEtiquetteSpoken Language
Book:Common courtesy: in which Miss Manners solves the problem that baffled Mr. Jefferson
Create image

“Nowadays, we never allow ourselves the convenience of being temporarily unavailable, even to strangers. With telephone and beeper, people subject themselves to being instantly accessible to everyone at all times, and it is the person who refuses to be on call, rather than the importunate caller, who is considered rude.”

PeoplePersonsSubjectsRefuseStrangerAll TimeMannersRudeTelephonesConvenienceImportunateMiss Manners
Book:Common courtesy: in which Miss Manners solves the problem that baffled Mr. Jefferson
Create image

“One reason that the task of inventing manners is so difficult is that etiquette is folk custom, and people have emotional ties to the forms of their youth. That is why there is such hostility between generations in times of rapid change; their manners being different, each feels affronted by the other, taking even the most surface choices for challenges.”

PeopleFeelsDifferentReasonFormChoicesDifficultChallengesGenerationsYouthEmotionalTasksFolksSurfaceMannersTiesCustomsRapidsHostilityEtiquetteInventingBeing DifferentRapid Change
Book:Common courtesy: in which Miss Manners solves the problem that baffled Mr. Jefferson
Create image