ArcaMax

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I went to the symphony, which I've done for many years now. I know that proper symphony etiquette is to refrain from clapping between movements. However, it seems to me that many symphony attendees are not aware of this rule. This has given rise to a rather awkward situation: About half the audience knows the rule and does not clap, and the other half does clap -- so inevitably there is rather weak and half-hearted applause between movements.

Should symphonies try to educate their patrons on the rule with an announcement at the beginning of the concert? Or should we decide this rule has outlived its usefulness and applaud between movements the way we applaud each scene at the opera?

GENTLE READER: The announcement could go after the one about what to do if the theater is overrun by period instrumentalists.

Forgive Miss Manners; she has a headache from trying to scan a QR code for the playbill in the absence of a printed program. This is also why she was unable to verify if the symphony has already acted on your advice about a printed etiquette lesson -- many have.

As to the rule against clapping between movements, she chooses to believe that it is still viable, but that it is easy to forgive an audience member so caught up in the emotion of the performance as to momentarily forget it.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I am recovering from a fairly bad cold that I suspect I caught during my last hair appointment. While getting my hair washed, several workers were coughing and sneezing around me.

I get all the vaccines and wear masks on planes, but it is hard to wear a mask during a haircut.

Should I even mention this suspicion the next time I'm at the salon? If so, what to say without sounding accusatory? It seems folks have forgotten the lessons from the pandemic.

GENTLE READER: That there is no national consensus on what was learned from the pandemic may be one of the few things the country can agree on.

But the etiquette around employees exposing customers to more mundane illnesses in commercial establishments is the same as it was before: Express your concerns privately to the boss so as not to single out or embarrass individual employees.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: When did it become appropriate for people to inject a statement proclaiming their religious beliefs, with an air of superiority, into conversations that are not specifically about religion?

I cannot count the times I have heard "I'm a Christian, and ..." in the middle of a completely unrelated discussion. We could be talking about purchasing car tires, and this happens.

I don't need to know their beliefs. Furthermore, this statement hijacks the meaning of the word "Christian."

GENTLE READER: Etiquette has long recommended against injecting politics or religion into general conversation because of the strong feelings they engender.

We have lately seen the consequences of disregarding the former rule. As to when the latter practice began, Miss Manners is not a theologian, but she believes Christian proselytizing dates at least as far back as Saint Paul -- although not as a credential for judging tires.

========

(Please send your questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners.com; to her email, gentlereader@missmanners.com; or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.)

Copyright 2026 Judith Martin

COPYRIGHT 2026 JUDITH MARTIN