Judith Martin quotes: wise famous quotes, sayings and quotations by Judith Martin

Judith Martin Famous Quotes & Sayings

Discover top inspirational quotes from Judith Martin on Wise Famous Quotes.

The obligation to express gratitude deepens with procrastination. The longer you wait, the more effusive must be the thanks.

People read informality as, 'Do whatever you feel like,' and whatever you feel like might be disastrous.

Nowadays people consider it a disgrace to admit that they are not stressed.

Why bring children into a world where no one writes letters?

When politeness is used to show up other people, it is reclassified as rudeness. Thus it is technically impossible to be too polite.

When you're in love, you put up with things that, when you're out of love you cite.

Ideological differences are no excuse for rudeness.

[after the death of a loved one] It is when there is nothing more to be done that the reality of the loss often hits with full force.

Smart people duck when they hear the dread announcement 'I'm going to be perfectly honest with you.

There are always proper responses, even to rude questions.

Being listened to should be sufficiently gratifying in itself, whether or not the advice is followed.

The one prediction that never comes true is, 'You'll thank me for telling you this.

It is, indeed, a trial to maintain the virtue of humility when one can't help being right.

Society cannot exist without etiquette ... It never has, and until our own century, everybody knew that.

We are born charming, fresh and spontaneous and must be civilized before we are fit to participate in society.

You do not have to do everything disagreeable that you have a right to do.

Question- Should I loan a small amount of money to a friend? Answer- If you are sure that you can, if necessary, spare both.

The underlying principles of manners- respect, fairness, and congeniality.

A lot of men got upset at the feminist movement because they had all the toys and we wanted some.

It is one of Miss Manners's great discoveries that one needn't contradict others in order to set them straight.

The most conventional statements are both true and welcome.

There is no etiquette rule that decrees one must give out personal information to anyone who asks.

Obviously I'm going to be polite, so nobody has anything to fear from me.

It is said that dispensing advice is easy. What is difficult is getting anyone to listen to it.

The greater the controversy, the more you need manners.

Washington knows that it is not safe to kick people who are down until you find out what their next stop will be.

If it's against state law, it's generally considered a breach of Etiquette.

You glance at an e-mail. You give more attention to a real letter.

The language of clothing is high symbolism and we all, in moments where we need to know this, realize it.

Honesty has come to mean the privilege of insulting you to your face without expecting redress.

Eating grapes with a knife and fork is not what one would call refined. It is what one would call ludicrous.

Sometimes we do things a certain way just because that is the way we do things.

Hypocrisy is not generally a social sin, but a virtue.

Manners require showing consideration of all human beings, not just the ones to whom one is close.

We are all entitled to our little harmless habits, but we are not entitled to demand approval for them.

A general rule of etiquette is that one apologizes for the unfortunate occurrence, but the unthinkable is unmentionable.

People will say, 'Seventy isn't old, it's middle-aged,' and I think, middle of what - 140?

You don't want to look too chic at a Washington party or people will think you don't have a job worth losing.

Only a person who considers himself too good for you is good enough.

Everybody's an art critic.

When someone has tried to please you, it is rude, as well as disheartening, to respond by announcing that the effort was a failure.

The way one was brought up isn't an excuse for rude behavior.

Protocol is etiquette with a government expense account.

Generosity and gratitude are inseparably linked.

You should resolve not to seek public approval of your private business, when you are not also prepared to accept public disapproval.

You think death is any better an excuse for desertion than any other?

There are three social classes in America: upper middle class, middle class, and lower middle class.

It is far more impressive when others discover your good qualities without your help.

Life is full of wonderful passions that come and go over the years, but the only one that will never let you down is reading.

Everyone old enough to have a secret is entitled to have some place to keep it.

My children did not go through a stage of being rude to their parents. I'm sorry if that sounds incredible.

If you can't be kind, at least be vague.

Email is very informal, a memo. But I find that not signing off or not having a salutation bothers me.

What is Thanksgiving without a nutty relative?

If written directions alone would suffice, libraries wouldn't need to have the rest of the universities attached.

Fairness does not consist so much of everybody's doing the same thing, but of everybody's being willing to do something that others don't want to do.

Appearing to pay attention when someone is speaking is one of the cornerstones of real social interaction.

Part of the skill of saying no is to shut up afterward and not babble on, offering material for an argument.

When a society abandons its ideals just because most people can't live up to them, behavior gets very ugly indeed.

Greece is a good place for rebirths.

Try not to annoy your relatives unnecessarily.

Most people who work at home find they do not have the benefit of receptionists who serve as personal guards.

Adorable children are considered to be the general property of the human race. Rude children belong to their mothers.

When you consider how epidemic boredom is in our time, you have to concede that entertaining is a healing art.

Learn graceful ways of saying no and of pointing out that this pressure to do something is not in line with most people's wishes.

Many people mistakenly think a new technology cancels out an old one.

A young lady is a female child who has just done something dreadful.

Being polite does not mean being mummified.

Nowadays, you form your beliefs to fit your behavior, not the other way around.

The etiquette question that troubles so many fastidious people New Year's Day is: How am I ever going to face those people again?

Charming villains have always had a decided social advantage over well-meaning people who chew with their mouths open.

When virtues are pointed out first, flaws seem less insurmountable.

There is nothing like a good friend to help you out when you are not in trouble.

Freedom without rules doesn't work. And communities do not work unless they are regulated by etiquette.

For email, the old postcard rule applies. Nobody else is supposed to read your postcards, but you'd be a fool if you wrote anything private on one.

I try to behave myself, and I succeed.

The stress of making small talk with in-laws is called being part of a family.

A small wedding is not necessarily one to which very few people are invited. It is one to which the person you are addressing is not invited.

Chaperons don't enforce morality; they force immorality to be discreet.