217 Quotes About Etiquette

The field of asking is fundamentally improvisational. It thrives not in the creation of rules and etiquette but in the smashing of that etiquette.Which is to say: there are no rules.Or, rather, there are plenty of rules, but they ask, on bended knees, to be broken.

Gift giving is a true art.1. You need to understand the person to whom you intend to give the gift.2. You need to know what they truly want.3. You must be able to give it to them.Anything less is a symptom of varying degrees, on your part, of ignorance, distance, or insult.But if you cannot afford the right gift, telling the person what you would do if you could, justifies everything—as you present that not-so-perfect substitute.

To learn etiquette, is actually learning how to see others, and respect them.

Truly good manners are invisible: they ease the way for others, without drawing attention to themselves. It is no accident that the word "punctilious" ("attentive to formality or etiquette") comes from the same original root as punctuation.

People who throw kisses are hopelessly lazy.

Manners are the ability to put someone else at their ease...by turning any answer into another question.

Etiquette was just as exhausting as magic.

Miss Manners' distaste is for pseudo-social life at the office, because it is occasioned by proximity rather than affection. She believes we should all just work through, go home earlier, and give showers for our own friends.

Success-minded people must understand that the use of profane and obscene words have no place in their vocabulary.