Judith Martin Quotes & Sayings (Page 3)

“Presents are symbolic. When you give them in your personal life, they should show that you are paying attention to the person to whom you're giving them.”

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

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

“Being polite does not mean being mummified.”

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

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

“Indeed, Miss Manners has come to believe that the basic political division in this country is not between liberals and conservatives but between those who believe that they should have a say in the love lives of strangers and those who do not.”

“Chaperons, even in their days of glory, were almost never able to enforce morality; what they did was to force immorality to be discreet. This is no small contribution.”

“The mistake people keep making is that if they find a wonderful new tool, like email, they have to give up all others. They don't. You have simply added another very useful means to your communications repertoire.”

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