When people speak of ‘quaint old-fashioned manners,’ they seem as if by magic to reappear . . .
Magic Words
There are three little magic words
That will open any door with ease.
Two little words are “Thank you!”
And the other little word is “Please!”
by Author Unknown
Elvis: May I have an apple?
Sylvia: What is the magic word?
Elvis: Abracadabra?
“Politeness and consideration for others is like investing pennies and getting dollars back.” -Thomas Sowell (born 1930)
Too Polite
Broad met Stout
At the gate, and each
Was too polite to brush past.
“After you!” said Broad.
“After you!” said Stout.
They got in a dither
And went through together
And both
stuck
fast.
by Ian Serraillier (1912 - 1994)
“The hardest job kids face today is learning good manners without seeing any.” -Fred Astaire (pseudonym of Frederick Austerlitz (1899 - 1987))
Lawrence: What do well-behaved young lambs say to their mothers?
Florence: “Thank ewe!”
Al: When you yawn, you are supposed to put your hand over your mouth!
Lex: What, and get bitten?!
“Good manners and soft words have brought many a difficult thing to pass.” -John Vanbrugh (1664 - 1726)
“Etiquette is the glue that holds society together. It enables people to get along with other human beings without causing offense. It is manners, codified, or formalized. By learning a number of the various rules of etiquette, a person will eventually begin to understand the basic concept and perhaps perceive the overall underlying common thread that makes up the pattern, sometimes called ‘the Golden Rule.’” -David Hugh Beaumont (born 1966)
Netiquette: Manners on the internet, such as not using all-caps, or all-capital letters, which is referred to as, ‘SHOUTING!’
When it comes to jokes and funny stories, before you growl, “I’ve heard that one before,” consider this: Do you stop a pianist who is playing Chopin because you have heard that musical piece before?
Overheard: Try being nice to people, even if it does scare them a little bit at first.
Three Nice Mice
Three nice mice!
Three nice mice!
See how nice they are!
See how nice they are!
They’re always polite when they nibble their cheese;
They never forget to say thank you and please;
They cover their noses whenever they sneeze -
Ahhh ahhh ahhh-choo! (pretend sneeze)
Three nice mice!
Three nice mice!
by Author Unknown: can be sung to the same melody as that of “Three Blind Mice”
Etiquette and manners vary greatly geographically, culturally, religiously, and by economic classes all around the world. There are even variations by generation or age, gender, trade or profession, subculture, other group identity, and other factors. ‘When in Rome, do as the Romans do’ is an old proverb that means one should respect and follow local laws, customs, and manners.
Knock, knock!
Who’s there?
Elbows.
Elbows, who?
Elbows off the table, please!
“Good manners will often take people where neither money nor education will take them.” -Author Unknown
“Manners make man.” [translation to Modern English]
“Manners makyth man.” [original Middle English]
-William of Wykeham (1320 - 1404); adopted as the motto of Winchester College and New College in Oxford, England
Overheard: Politeness is an inexpensive way of making friends.
“Allowing an unimportant mistake to pass without comment is a wonderful social grace.” -Miss Manners (Judith Martin (born 1938))
“I don’t recall your name, but your manners are familiar.” -Oliver Herford (1863 - 1935)
“He was so generally civil, that nobody thanked him for it.” -Samuel Johnson (1709 - 1784)
“Hail the small sweet courtesies of life, for smooth do they make the road of it.” -Laurence Sterne (1713 - 1768)
“Manners are of more importance than laws. Manners are what vex or soothe, corrupt or purify, exalt or debase, barbarize or refine us, by a constant, steady, uniform, insensible operation, like that of the air we breathe in.” -Edmund Burke (1729 - 1797)
Mabel: What person do you always take your hat off to?
Abel: The barber.
“Something happens inside of us when we are courteous and deferential toward others. It is all part of a refining process, which if persisted in, will change our very natures.” -Gordon B. Hinckley (Gordon Bitner Hinckley (1910 - 2008))
Overheard: Be polite to the aged, because you will be one of them soon enough yourself - if you are fortunate.
Magic Words
There are three little magic words
That will open any door with ease.
Two little words are “Thank you!”
And the other little word is “Please!”
by Author Unknown
Elvis: May I have an apple?
Sylvia: What is the magic word?
Elvis: Abracadabra?
“Politeness and consideration for others is like investing pennies and getting dollars back.” -Thomas Sowell (born 1930)
Too Polite
Broad met Stout
At the gate, and each
Was too polite to brush past.
“After you!” said Broad.
“After you!” said Stout.
They got in a dither
And went through together
And both
stuck
fast.
by Ian Serraillier (1912 - 1994)
“The hardest job kids face today is learning good manners without seeing any.” -Fred Astaire (pseudonym of Frederick Austerlitz (1899 - 1987))
Lawrence: What do well-behaved young lambs say to their mothers?
Florence: “Thank ewe!”
Al: When you yawn, you are supposed to put your hand over your mouth!
Lex: What, and get bitten?!
“Good manners and soft words have brought many a difficult thing to pass.” -John Vanbrugh (1664 - 1726)
“Etiquette is the glue that holds society together. It enables people to get along with other human beings without causing offense. It is manners, codified, or formalized. By learning a number of the various rules of etiquette, a person will eventually begin to understand the basic concept and perhaps perceive the overall underlying common thread that makes up the pattern, sometimes called ‘the Golden Rule.’” -David Hugh Beaumont (born 1966)
Netiquette: Manners on the internet, such as not using all-caps, or all-capital letters, which is referred to as, ‘SHOUTING!’
When it comes to jokes and funny stories, before you growl, “I’ve heard that one before,” consider this: Do you stop a pianist who is playing Chopin because you have heard that musical piece before?
Overheard: Try being nice to people, even if it does scare them a little bit at first.
Three Nice Mice
Three nice mice!
Three nice mice!
See how nice they are!
See how nice they are!
They’re always polite when they nibble their cheese;
They never forget to say thank you and please;
They cover their noses whenever they sneeze -
Ahhh ahhh ahhh-choo! (pretend sneeze)
Three nice mice!
Three nice mice!
by Author Unknown: can be sung to the same melody as that of “Three Blind Mice”
Etiquette and manners vary greatly geographically, culturally, religiously, and by economic classes all around the world. There are even variations by generation or age, gender, trade or profession, subculture, other group identity, and other factors. ‘When in Rome, do as the Romans do’ is an old proverb that means one should respect and follow local laws, customs, and manners.
Knock, knock!
Who’s there?
Elbows.
Elbows, who?
Elbows off the table, please!
“Good manners will often take people where neither money nor education will take them.” -Author Unknown
“Manners make man.” [translation to Modern English]
“Manners makyth man.” [original Middle English]
-William of Wykeham (1320 - 1404); adopted as the motto of Winchester College and New College in Oxford, England
Overheard: Politeness is an inexpensive way of making friends.
“Allowing an unimportant mistake to pass without comment is a wonderful social grace.” -Miss Manners (Judith Martin (born 1938))
“I don’t recall your name, but your manners are familiar.” -Oliver Herford (1863 - 1935)
“He was so generally civil, that nobody thanked him for it.” -Samuel Johnson (1709 - 1784)
“Hail the small sweet courtesies of life, for smooth do they make the road of it.” -Laurence Sterne (1713 - 1768)
“Manners are of more importance than laws. Manners are what vex or soothe, corrupt or purify, exalt or debase, barbarize or refine us, by a constant, steady, uniform, insensible operation, like that of the air we breathe in.” -Edmund Burke (1729 - 1797)
Mabel: What person do you always take your hat off to?
Abel: The barber.
“Something happens inside of us when we are courteous and deferential toward others. It is all part of a refining process, which if persisted in, will change our very natures.” -Gordon B. Hinckley (Gordon Bitner Hinckley (1910 - 2008))
Overheard: Be polite to the aged, because you will be one of them soon enough yourself - if you are fortunate.
“Nothing is ever lost by courtesy. It is the cheapest of the pleasures; costs nothing and conveys much. It pleases him who gives and him who receives, and thus, like mercy, is twice blessed.” -Erastus Wiman (1834 - 1904): “Chances of Success” (1893)
“Good manners: The noise you don’t make when you’re eating soup.” -Bennett Cerf (1898 - 1971)
“We must recall the most humanitarian guideline of all: be polite. Being polite is possibly the greatest daily contribution everyone can make to life on Earth.” -Caitlin Moran: “How to be a Woman” (16 June 2011)
Jimmy: Don’t you want to be well-mannered and polite?
Jenny: No, thank you!
“Hospitality is making your guests feel at home, even if you wish they were.” -Author Unknown
Do you recall those quaint old customs and manners of yesteryear? Tip your hats to the ladies, gentlemen. Girls curtsy, and boys bow. A gentleman always has a handkerchief to offer to a lady. A lady drops her handkerchief so that a gentleman can pick it up and hand it to her, a ruse used by the lady to get the gentleman to say a word to her. Gentlemen had calling cards, which they would leave so that people could contact them later. People smiled at strangers as they passed, and often greeted them, as for example, saying, “How do you do?” Well, don’t be sad at their passing - times haven’t changed so much - what’s old can be new again; all it takes is for you to demonstrate the newer versions of these acts yourself when opportunities avail themselves to you, and continue doing them until others begin to emulate you.
“Good manners are just a way of showing other people that we have respect for them.” -Bill Kelly
“One of the greatest victories you can gain over someone is to beat him at politeness.” -Josh Billings (pseudonym of Henry Wheeler Shaw (1818 - 1885))
“Good manners will open doors that the best education cannot.” -Clarence Thomas (born 1948)
“Should you happen to notice that another person is extremely tall or overweight, eats too much or declines convivial drinks, has red hair, or goes about in a wheelchair, ought to get married or ought not to be pregnant - see if you can refrain from bringing these astonishing observations to that person’s attention.” -Miss Manners (Judith Martin (born 1938)), as quoted in William Safire and Leonard Safir: “Words of Wisdom: More Good Advice” (1989)
“Your mood should not dictate your manners.” -Author Unknown
“Associate with well-manner persons and your manners will improve. Run around with decent folk and your own decent instincts will be strengthened.” -Stanley Walker (1898 - 1962)
“Life is not so short but that there is always time enough for courtesy.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 - 1882): “Letters and Social Aims” (1876)
“Politeness is the art of choosing among one’s real thoughts.” -Madame de Staël (Anna Maria Louis Germaine Necker (1766 - 1817)): as quoted in Abel Stevens (1815 - 1897): “Madame de Staël” (1881)
“Politeness is a sign of dignity, not subservience.” -Theodore ‘Teddy’ Roosevelt (1858 - 1919)
“A man has no more right to say an uncivil thing than to act one; no more right to say a rude thing to another than to knock him down.” -Samuel Johnson (1709 - 1784)
“A Man without Ceremony has need of great Merit in its Place.” -Thomas Fuller (1654 - 1734): Gnomologia: Adages and Proverbs” (1732), number 315
“Manners easily and rapidly mature into morals.” -Horace Mann (1796 - 1859)
“I don’t mind if you don’t like my manners. I don’t like them myself. They’re pretty bad. I grieve over them on long Winter evenings.” -Humphrey Bogart (Humphrey DeForest ‘Bogey’ Bogart (1899 - 1957))
“Politeness makes one appear outwardly as they should be within.” -Jean de la Bruyère (1645 - 1696)
“Visitors should behave in such a way that the host and hostess feel at home.” -J. S. Farynski (Jerzy Stanislaw Farynski)
“He is the very pineapple of politeness!” -Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1751 - 1816)
“The knowledge of courtesy and good manners is a very necessary study. It is like grace and beauty, that which begets liking and an inclination to love one another at the first sight.” -Michel de Montaigne (Michel Eyquem de Montaigne (1533 - 1592)): “Essais” (“Essays”) (1595), Book 1, chapter 7
“Politeness costs nothing and gains everything.” -Mary Montagu (Mary Wortley Montagu (1689 - 1762)): letter (30 May 1756) to Mary, Countess of Bute
“Every generation is convinced there has been a deplorable breakdown of manners.” -Byron Dobell (1927 - 2017)
“Politeness is the flower of humanity.” -Joseph Joubert (1754 - 1824)
“Good manners sometimes means simply putting up with other people’s bad manners.” -H. Jackson Brown (Harriett Jackson Brown, Junior (born 1940))
“Manners are a sensitive awareness of the feelings of others. If you have that awareness, you have good manners, no matter what fork you use.” -Emily Post (1873 - 1960): as attributed in Matthew Gara: “Hey! Let’s Talk It Over” (1967)
“Rudeness is the weak man’s imitation of strength.” -Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983): “The Passionate State of Mind” (1955)
“All Doors open to Courtesy.” -Thomas Fuller (1654 - 1734): Gnomologia: Adages and Proverbs” (1732), number 512
“To be a successful hostess, when guests arrive say, ‘At last!’ and when they leave say, ‘So soon!’” -Author Unknown
“Being nice to someone you dislike doesn’t mean you’re fake. It means you are mature enough to tolerate your dislike towards them.” -Author Unknown
“We cannot always oblige, but we can always speak obligingly.” -Voltaire (pseudonym of François-Marie Arouet (1694 - 1778))
“Fine manners need the support of fine manners in others.” -Douglas Jerrold (Douglas William Jerrold (1803 - 1857))
“Good manners must be inspired by the good heart. There is no beautifier of complexion, or form, or behavior, like the wish to scatter joy and not pain around us.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 - 1882)
“Anyone can be polite to a king. It takes a gentleman to be polite to a beggar.” -Author Unknown
“True politeness consists in being easy one’s self, and in making every one about one as easy as one can.” -Alexander Pope (1688 - 1744)
“Etiquette is all human social behavior. If you’re a hermit on a mountain, you don’t have to worry about etiquette; if somebody comes up the mountain, then you’ve got a problem. It matters because we want to live in reasonably harmonious communities.” -Miss Manners (Judith Martin (born 1938))
“The test of good manners is to be patient with bad ones.” -Gabirol (Solomon Ibn Gabirol (about 1022 - 1058))
“We’ve learned to dress for success, to speak for success. Now we need to learn how to behave for success.” -Marjabelle Young Stewart (1924 - 2007)
“Good manners are made up of petty sacrifices.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 - 1882)
“To sleep when others speak, to sit when others stand, to walk on when others stay, to speak when one should hold his peace, or hear others, are all things of ill manners.” -Francis Hawkins (1628 - 1624)
“Politeness is benevolence in small things.” -Author Unknown
Manners
We say, “Thank you.”
We say, “Please.”
We don’t interrupt or tease.
We don’t argue. We don’t fuss.
We listen when folks talk to us.
We share our toys and take our turn.
Good manners aren’t too hard to learn.
It’s really easy, when you find
Good manners means
Just being kind!
by Author Unknown
“You can get through life with bad manners, but it’s easier with good manners.” -Lillian Gish
“Politeness is to do and say the nicest thing in the nicest way.” -Author Unknown
This is MFOL! . . . where ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ are magic words . . .
“Good manners: The noise you don’t make when you’re eating soup.” -Bennett Cerf (1898 - 1971)
“We must recall the most humanitarian guideline of all: be polite. Being polite is possibly the greatest daily contribution everyone can make to life on Earth.” -Caitlin Moran: “How to be a Woman” (16 June 2011)
Jimmy: Don’t you want to be well-mannered and polite?
Jenny: No, thank you!
“Hospitality is making your guests feel at home, even if you wish they were.” -Author Unknown
Do you recall those quaint old customs and manners of yesteryear? Tip your hats to the ladies, gentlemen. Girls curtsy, and boys bow. A gentleman always has a handkerchief to offer to a lady. A lady drops her handkerchief so that a gentleman can pick it up and hand it to her, a ruse used by the lady to get the gentleman to say a word to her. Gentlemen had calling cards, which they would leave so that people could contact them later. People smiled at strangers as they passed, and often greeted them, as for example, saying, “How do you do?” Well, don’t be sad at their passing - times haven’t changed so much - what’s old can be new again; all it takes is for you to demonstrate the newer versions of these acts yourself when opportunities avail themselves to you, and continue doing them until others begin to emulate you.
“Good manners are just a way of showing other people that we have respect for them.” -Bill Kelly
“One of the greatest victories you can gain over someone is to beat him at politeness.” -Josh Billings (pseudonym of Henry Wheeler Shaw (1818 - 1885))
“Good manners will open doors that the best education cannot.” -Clarence Thomas (born 1948)
“Should you happen to notice that another person is extremely tall or overweight, eats too much or declines convivial drinks, has red hair, or goes about in a wheelchair, ought to get married or ought not to be pregnant - see if you can refrain from bringing these astonishing observations to that person’s attention.” -Miss Manners (Judith Martin (born 1938)), as quoted in William Safire and Leonard Safir: “Words of Wisdom: More Good Advice” (1989)
“Your mood should not dictate your manners.” -Author Unknown
“Associate with well-manner persons and your manners will improve. Run around with decent folk and your own decent instincts will be strengthened.” -Stanley Walker (1898 - 1962)
“Life is not so short but that there is always time enough for courtesy.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 - 1882): “Letters and Social Aims” (1876)
“Politeness is the art of choosing among one’s real thoughts.” -Madame de Staël (Anna Maria Louis Germaine Necker (1766 - 1817)): as quoted in Abel Stevens (1815 - 1897): “Madame de Staël” (1881)
“Politeness is a sign of dignity, not subservience.” -Theodore ‘Teddy’ Roosevelt (1858 - 1919)
“A man has no more right to say an uncivil thing than to act one; no more right to say a rude thing to another than to knock him down.” -Samuel Johnson (1709 - 1784)
“A Man without Ceremony has need of great Merit in its Place.” -Thomas Fuller (1654 - 1734): Gnomologia: Adages and Proverbs” (1732), number 315
“Manners easily and rapidly mature into morals.” -Horace Mann (1796 - 1859)
“I don’t mind if you don’t like my manners. I don’t like them myself. They’re pretty bad. I grieve over them on long Winter evenings.” -Humphrey Bogart (Humphrey DeForest ‘Bogey’ Bogart (1899 - 1957))
“Politeness makes one appear outwardly as they should be within.” -Jean de la Bruyère (1645 - 1696)
“Visitors should behave in such a way that the host and hostess feel at home.” -J. S. Farynski (Jerzy Stanislaw Farynski)
“He is the very pineapple of politeness!” -Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1751 - 1816)
“The knowledge of courtesy and good manners is a very necessary study. It is like grace and beauty, that which begets liking and an inclination to love one another at the first sight.” -Michel de Montaigne (Michel Eyquem de Montaigne (1533 - 1592)): “Essais” (“Essays”) (1595), Book 1, chapter 7
“Politeness costs nothing and gains everything.” -Mary Montagu (Mary Wortley Montagu (1689 - 1762)): letter (30 May 1756) to Mary, Countess of Bute
“Every generation is convinced there has been a deplorable breakdown of manners.” -Byron Dobell (1927 - 2017)
“Politeness is the flower of humanity.” -Joseph Joubert (1754 - 1824)
“Good manners sometimes means simply putting up with other people’s bad manners.” -H. Jackson Brown (Harriett Jackson Brown, Junior (born 1940))
“Manners are a sensitive awareness of the feelings of others. If you have that awareness, you have good manners, no matter what fork you use.” -Emily Post (1873 - 1960): as attributed in Matthew Gara: “Hey! Let’s Talk It Over” (1967)
“Rudeness is the weak man’s imitation of strength.” -Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983): “The Passionate State of Mind” (1955)
“All Doors open to Courtesy.” -Thomas Fuller (1654 - 1734): Gnomologia: Adages and Proverbs” (1732), number 512
“To be a successful hostess, when guests arrive say, ‘At last!’ and when they leave say, ‘So soon!’” -Author Unknown
“Being nice to someone you dislike doesn’t mean you’re fake. It means you are mature enough to tolerate your dislike towards them.” -Author Unknown
“We cannot always oblige, but we can always speak obligingly.” -Voltaire (pseudonym of François-Marie Arouet (1694 - 1778))
“Fine manners need the support of fine manners in others.” -Douglas Jerrold (Douglas William Jerrold (1803 - 1857))
“Good manners must be inspired by the good heart. There is no beautifier of complexion, or form, or behavior, like the wish to scatter joy and not pain around us.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 - 1882)
“Anyone can be polite to a king. It takes a gentleman to be polite to a beggar.” -Author Unknown
“True politeness consists in being easy one’s self, and in making every one about one as easy as one can.” -Alexander Pope (1688 - 1744)
“Etiquette is all human social behavior. If you’re a hermit on a mountain, you don’t have to worry about etiquette; if somebody comes up the mountain, then you’ve got a problem. It matters because we want to live in reasonably harmonious communities.” -Miss Manners (Judith Martin (born 1938))
“The test of good manners is to be patient with bad ones.” -Gabirol (Solomon Ibn Gabirol (about 1022 - 1058))
“We’ve learned to dress for success, to speak for success. Now we need to learn how to behave for success.” -Marjabelle Young Stewart (1924 - 2007)
“Good manners are made up of petty sacrifices.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 - 1882)
“To sleep when others speak, to sit when others stand, to walk on when others stay, to speak when one should hold his peace, or hear others, are all things of ill manners.” -Francis Hawkins (1628 - 1624)
“Politeness is benevolence in small things.” -Author Unknown
Manners
We say, “Thank you.”
We say, “Please.”
We don’t interrupt or tease.
We don’t argue. We don’t fuss.
We listen when folks talk to us.
We share our toys and take our turn.
Good manners aren’t too hard to learn.
It’s really easy, when you find
Good manners means
Just being kind!
by Author Unknown
“You can get through life with bad manners, but it’s easier with good manners.” -Lillian Gish
“Politeness is to do and say the nicest thing in the nicest way.” -Author Unknown
This is MFOL! . . . where ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ are magic words . . .
