Some Tips to Make Tipping a Little Easier
If you’re a frequent business traveler, like a reader named Agowen, you may often experience a sinking feeling when it’s time to tip the bell hop. You reach into your pocket or handbag only [...]
Dad to Daughter’s Laptop: ‘Bang Bang, You’re Dead’
In the eight days since a fed-up North Carolina dad who shot up his teenage daughter’s laptop with a .45-caliber pistol uploaded a YouTube video that documents the incident, more than 25 million viewers—parents [...]
Be Nice on Pinterest: The polite way to ‘pin’
I’ve been obsessed lately with Pinterest, the site where you can “pin” collections of interesting pictures onto an online bulletin board you share with your friends. Yeah, me and nearly 11 million other Pinterest [...]
Should You Send a Gift to a Wedding You Can’t Attend?
This week’s etiquette question came from HeatherMLee, who must decline an invitation to her niece’s wedding because it is too far for her to travel. She asked: “What is the appropriate thing to do, [...]
Defining ‘Chivalry’ in the Modern World
A reader named MarkWA, who was raised by a father who taught him it’s polite to hold open doors, lift heavy things for others and pay for restaurant meals to which he has invited [...]
‘R u on the toilet right now? Me too’
After two decades as a wife and mother, I thought I had pretty much seen it all in the “weird behavior” department. Then some of my family members (who know who you are) got [...]
Call Me ‘Mrs. Rockefeller’ (My Husband Does)
My husband is a reasonable man. After all, he generally can be counted on to agree with me when it comes to the big issues in life. For instance, we both believe that babies [...]
Mother in Law’s Lament: ‘They Left Me Out’
How do in-laws avoid hurt feelings? LostMom13 wrote to say she felt snubbed because her daughter-in-law’s family didn’t invite her to attend a christening. “My son and DIL were godparents,” LostMom13 wrote. “This was [...]
How to Explain Why Mommy and Daddy Don’t Live Together Anymore: Blog It
I think the phrase we’re supposed to use to describe what happens when a blogger publicly reveals the most intimate details of her personal life is: “full disclosure.” But how do you describe the [...]
Manicures, Anyone? (How to Get Rid of a Tagalong Boyfriend)
A reader named idlemusings wrote to say it bothers her that one of her girlfriends always asks, before the two of them spend time together, if it’s OK for her boyfriend to tag along. [...]
