ArcaMax

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I am a female student, and I have a situation where a male classmate inappropriately chimes in on personal conversations. For example, I was asking my friends about a type of bra, and later that day, this classmate followed me to my car and gave me a tutorial about bras.

The crazy thing is he didn't seem to notice that I was ...Read more

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I live in a large city, and used to enjoy going out to lunch or dinner with friends. However, the loud music combined with the lack of sound-absorbing materials in restaurants have made dining out a stressful event.

It has become almost impossible to converse in a normal tone of voice. As we age, many of us wear hearing aids....Read more

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I am a professor at a small university. One of my colleagues has the annoying habit of entering my office without knocking. These are not social visits: She invariably needs help with her computer or wants to borrow instructional materials, and she just opens the door and walks in.

Before we moved to this building, her office...Read more

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I have just received a delivery notice that two bottles of wine are on the way to me. This is the fourth such delivery, from a financial professional who manages some of my accounts. I have always sent a nice thank-you afterwards.

The problem: I don't drink wine! I just give it to someone who does appreciate it.

What bothers...Read more

DEAR MISS MANNERS: You must be really happy that the Secretary of Transportation has told us poor wretches who fly economy to dress up for the privilege. Hats and gloves, naturally. I have my grandfather's old fedora, but my wife might have to buy new white gloves.

But why stop at the Perfect 1950s? Shouldn't red-eye flights require tuxedos and...Read more