ArcaMax

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I understand that we shouldn't talk about religion, nor about politics.

Now it's food that's verboten.

Sports? Please, no!

Travel plans or trip reports? Yawn.

Health concerns? Yech.

Bragging/complaining about children/other relatives/neighbors/jobs? Snore.

Favorite movies/TV shows/news sources?

Hobbies?

New cars or ...Read more

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I work with a woman with whom I have a friendly, professional relationship. We are often in shared-food settings together, such as office lunches or happy hours with appetizers.

She adheres to a no-carb diet, but is quite gracious about encouraging others to order or bring whatever they'd like, saying that she'll "make it ...Read more

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I have been married to a very sweet guy for over 15 years now. I have never made a habit of keeping secrets from him, and we have a very honest relationship. However, my lifelong friend recently discovered that something from our college days has surfaced online.

It's a video of my friend and me participating in a wet T-shirt...Read more

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I often have lunch at fast-food restaurants. I will get five or six packets of hot sauce from the self-serve area, and when I'm finished with lunch, I just return the unopened packets to where I got them. Sometimes I get bad looks from people for doing this.

What is the etiquette for this? Should I just trash any unopened ...Read more

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I'm the pastor of a medium-sized church (about 500 members), with five other ministers on staff, as well. This summer, while I was on vacation, a church member harshly criticized the staff for not noticing she'd been gone for eight Sundays. This young woman blasted us for this oversight in an extended rant on social media.

In...Read more