Judith Martin quotes

We are born charming, fresh and spontaneous and must be civilized before we are fit to participate in society. (Judith Martin)
If you can't be kind, at least be vague. View quote
Judith Martin
It's far more impressive when others discover your good qualities without your help. View quote
Judith Martin
I make a distinction between manners and etiquette - manners as the principles, which are eternal and universal, etiquette as the particular rules which are arbitrary and different in different times, different situations, different cultures. View quote
Judith Martin
There are three social classes in America: upper middle class, middle class, and lower middle class. View quote
Judith Martin
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. View quote
Judith Martin
When a society abandons its ideals just because most people can't live up to them, behavior gets very ugly indeed. View quote
Judith Martin
everyone old enough to have a secret is entitled to have some place to keep it. View quote
Judith Martin
The greater the controversy, the more you need manners. View quote
Judith Martin
Charming villains have always had a decided social advantage over well-meaning people who chew with their mouths open. View quote
Judith Martin
If you put together all the ingredients that naturally attract children - sex, violence, revenge, spectacle and vigorous noise - what you have is grand opera. (Judith Martin)
When people start hurling insults at you, you know their minds are closed and there's no point in debating. You disengage yourself as quickly as possible from the situation. View quote
Judith Martin
Etiquette does not render you defenseless. If it did, even I wouldn't subscribe to it. But rudeness in retaliation for rudeness just doubles the amount of rudeness in the world. View quote
Judith Martin
We already know that anonymous letters are despicable. In etiquette, as well as in law, hiring a hit man to do the job does not relieve you of responsibility. View quote
Judith Martin
One of the big no-nos in cyberspace is that you do not go into a social activity, a chat group or something like that, and start advertising or selling things. This etiquette rule is an attempt to separate one's social life, which should be pure enjoyment and relaxation, from the pressures of work. View quote
Judith Martin
Hypocrisy is not generally a social sin, but a virtue. View quote
Judith Martin
Many people mistakenly think a new technology cancels out an old one. View quote
Judith Martin
You glance at an e-mail. You give more attention to a real letter. View quote
Judith Martin
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. View quote
Judith Martin
A lot of men got upset at the feminist movement because they had all the toys and we wanted some. View quote
Judith Martin
Chaperons don't enforce morality; they force immorality to be discreet. (Judith Martin)
Only a person who considers himself too good for you is good enough. View quote
Judith Martin
The one prediction that never comes true is, 'You'll thank me for telling you this. View quote
Judith Martin
The invention of the teenager was a mistake. Once you identify a period of life in which people get to stay out late but don't have to pay taxes - naturally, no one wants to live any other way. View quote
Judith Martin
Most people who work at home find they do not have the benefit of receptionists who serve as personal guards. View quote
Judith Martin