GENTLE READER: “If you could please use my legal name on any official documents, that would save us all a lot of confusion ...

Then, just one time to show goodwill, offer to go out to lunch instead. Miss Manners cannot guarantee that your friend will ...

In today's Miss Manners column, advice columnist Judith Martin provides guidance on how to politely request alone time from a ...

What is the most tactful way to say I won’t be providing a job referral for my brother, while avoiding straining family ties?

Even if such responses are socially acceptable as “white lies,” I’m concerned they could be more harmful in the long run.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: How do I tell my friend to go away and leave me alone? I need my alone time to recharge, but she will keep ...

In today's Miss Manners column, advice columnist Judith Martin offers advice on how to gracefully handle a situation where a ...

If your honest answers are yes, then you are not practicing honesty as a virtue, but using it as a weapon.

I have a strong moral requirement not to lie, which has led me to reflect on the role of full truthfulness in good manners. I often observe people giving false reasons or intentionally omitting ...

If your dislike affects only yourself, then you might find a reason that is less fully truthful, but also less likely to ...

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I kept my birth name when ... I got mad at them, and they said I need to “just say thank you” and called me ungrateful. What is the correct response that doesn’t leave ...

Yes, it’s an opening sentence straight out of freshman composition and I’m not proud of it, but looking back on 20 years of Miss Conduct advice columns, this is the thought that persists, cliché or ...