“Manners are about imagination, ultimately. They are about imagining being the other person.” PersonsImaginationManners Author:Lynne Truss
“The rule is: don’t use commas like a stupid person. I mean it.” MeanPersonsUseStupidStupid Person Author:Lynne Truss
“I recently heard of someone studying the ellipsis (or three dots) for a PhD. And, I have to say, I was horrified. The ellipsis is the black hole of the punctuation universe, surely, into which no right-minded person would willingly be sucked, for three years, with no guarantee of a job at the end.” YearsPersonsEndsJobsUniverseThreeBlackStudyHeardHolesGuaranteesThree YearsDotsPunctuationBlack HolePhds Author:Lynne Truss
“...when a phone call competes for attention with a real-world conversation, it wins. Everyone knows the distinctive high-and-dry feeling of being abandoned for a phone call, and of having to compensate - with quite elaborate behaviours = for the sudden half-disappearance of the person we were just speaking to. 'Go ahead!' we say. 'Don't mind us! Oh look, here's a magazine I can read!' When the call is over, other rituals come into play, to minimise the disruption caused and to restore good feeling.” KnowsWorldMindLooksPersonsI CanRealPlayFeelingsWinningAttentionHalfConversationPhonesMagazinesDryRitualReal WorldAbandonedBehaviourPhone CallsDisruptionDistinctiveDisappearanceGood FeelingI Can Read Author:Lynne Truss
“Offence is so easily given. And where the 'minority' issue is involved, the rules seem to shift about: most of the time a person who is female/black/disabled/gay wants this not to be their defining characteristic; you are supposed to be blind to it. But then, on other occasions, you are supposed to observe special sensitivity, or show special respect.” WantPersonsShowsSeemsGivenBlackIssuesSpecialInvolvedGayFemaleBlindOccasionsSupposed To BeCharacteristicsMinoritiesSensitivityDefiningDisabledPolitical CorrectnessOffence Author:Lynne Truss
“The problem is that it has become politically awkward to draw attention to absolutes of bad and good. In place of manners, we now have doctrines of political correctness, against which one offends at one's peril: by means of a considerable circular logic, such offences mark you as reactionary and therefore a bad person. Therefore if you say people are bad, you are bad.” PeopleIfsMeanPersonsProblemPoliticalAttentionDrawsLogicMarkAbsolutesDoctrineMannersAwkwardPerilPolitical CorrectnessCorrectnessReactionariesOffence Author:Lynne Truss
“My favorite thing in the world is a quiz show, 'University Challenge,' so you can see what kind of sad person I am.” WorldKindPersonsShowsChallengesUniversityMy FavoriteFavorites ThingsQuizQuiz ShowSad Person Author:Lynne Truss
