Is there a polite way to tell your significant other that you absolutely hate the gifts you've received from them for holiday? But wait!! I'm not being snooty for the reasons you'd think I would! More inside.. [more inside]
posted by baconandvodka on Dec 29, 2012 - 68 answers

What is the Facebook protocol during a painful divorce? [more inside]
posted by anonymous on May 7, 2012 - 40 answers

My partner was not invited to my friend's wedding yet my ex-husband and his new girlfriend are. Bride and Groom to be were both invited and attended ex and my wedding previously. I live with my partner and its a serious relationship. My ex-husbands gf is now pregnant. I find this all upsetting. How should I respond? [more inside]
posted by Under the Sea on Jan 13, 2012 - 67 answers

Ok, so I've been having this problem lately (and I think it's related to my recent depression) where I meet new people and kind of expect that I'll never develop any friendship with them, but then it actually does happen, and I realize in horror that when they bring up previous conversations we've had, I act completely clueless because I didn't bother to remember it in the first place, and they say something like, "Remember we were talking about how my mom lives literally right next door to you?" (seriously, that happened today) and I remember suddenly, but clearly have already made it obvious that I didn't remember it in the first place... That's been happening a lot lately, and I want to know how to recall what I talked about with people more. [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Dec 1, 2011 - 8 answers

I know how to treat a waiter/waitress or a barista properly -- how do I do the same for my tech support guy, doctor, mechanic, tailor, or professor? [more inside]
posted by liminalrampaste on Oct 10, 2011 - 23 answers

How do I deal with people pushing blind dates, when love is not (for the moment) blind? [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Jul 12, 2010 - 15 answers

Dating Etiquette - gently letting a suitor know someone else has been picked instead of him, without burning the bridge. [more inside]
posted by lizbunny on Mar 7, 2010 - 31 answers

What's the best way to handle an obsessive friend making unwanted pitches to you? [more inside]
posted by Flitcraft on Jan 11, 2010 - 20 answers

What is proper dating etiquette? [more inside]
posted by mintchip on Aug 5, 2009 - 20 answers

Re: Work Interview Etiquette. I messed up bad. I don't know what to do or if I should do anything. The scenario (names will be changed): [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Apr 17, 2009 - 8 answers

What's appropriate behavior in mixed groups of couples and singles? Especially when there's just one single? [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Jul 12, 2007 - 45 answers

Relationship Etiquette Filter: I had forgotten that I still have a gift that an ex's mom gave to me several years ago. It supposedly had sentimental value, and I feel weird about keeping it. Will I offend by trying to return it? Oh boy, there's way [more inside]
posted by wejones on Aug 16, 2006 - 43 answers

Online dating diplomacy. If you decide after an email or two that you are not interested in the other person, either because the conversation is uninspiring or the pictures they send are unappealing, should you actually write to tell them "sorry, but I'm not interested?" Or is that worse than falling silent and letting the correspondence die? Some people persist if you don't respond, and ask "what's the deal? you didn't like my pic?" I honestly don't know what's the best thing to say, if anything. Honesty is not the same as full disclosure, and I just feel that random people really don't need to hear that I find them undesireable / uninteresting. I figure if I just stop writing, most people will simply write me off and move on. What do you think?
posted by scarabic on Jan 31, 2005 - 38 answers

I spent my first Christmas with the boyfriend's parents this year. I showed up empty-handed, after a late "oh, mom got you some stuff, too." I came away with more in presents than I'm going to get from my own parents. Now I feel like an ass. What do I do? [more inside]
posted by billybunny on Dec 24, 2004 - 12 answers

How do I get my relatives to stop bugging me about why I don't have a boyfriend yet? (mi+) [more inside]
posted by invisible ink on Dec 24, 2004 - 39 answers

I have a friend who stinks. He has horrible breath (he's a chain-smoker), and his clothes and body reek. I'm not sure what to do. It's so bad that many people have commented that it's hard to be around him. But other than the smell, he's a great guy. He's also lonely, and can't get a date. His life would be so much better if he had better hygiene. So what do I do about this? Tell him face-to-face? Send an anonymous email? Do nothing? If I do bring it up, how do I do it sensitively? Added to the problems, he's very poor. He can't even afford a phone. My guess is that part of the problem is that he's trying to save money on laundry. Still, soap is cheap. I'm trying to obey the Golden Rule, but it's hard. If I was the smelly one, I would want to be told, I guess. But I would be SO humiliated! He's in his early 40s. Really smart and literate.
posted by anonymous on Nov 6, 2004 - 18 answers

Can someone's standing be vitiated by honesty? For example, telling someone they are fat and need to lose weight? [more inside]
posted by the fire you left me on Aug 29, 2004 - 33 answers

Advice for the socially awkward, part three million and two. I've been asked to have lunch next week by a guy I recently met one time through work. I have accepted. I'd like to let him know I'm already in a committed relationship without coming off as cutting. He seems nice, with friend potential. Have I already blundered? Is it a date? Help!
posted by ungratefulninja on Aug 6, 2004 - 36 answers