Wednesday, November 30, 2022
Books read in November 2022
Wednesday, November 23, 2022
What to do if you don't like hearing your daughter-in-law's surname
From a recent Carolyn Hax:
Hello Carolyn: Our son’s wife of several years chose to hyphenate our last name with her maiden name. Whenever we are with them, she always identifies herself with her maiden name, from setting up reservations to public places requiring identification. It can be hurtful to us. Are we being too sensitive?
— J.
A simple solution would be to take the lead on making reservations and otherwise interacting with others on behalf of your party. That way, the only name you'll have to hear in these contexts is your own.
Tuesday, November 22, 2022
Explicio via absurdum
Sometimes I find that the opposite of reductio ad absurdum is actually helpful - using an utterly absurd or extreme example to explain a concept.
With my complete lack of Latin knowledge, I've been calling this "explicio via absurdum", but I welcome any corrections to my Latin!
Sunday, November 13, 2022
"Good morning" is the email salutation you're looking for
Dear Miss Manners: Or should I say “Hi, Miss Manners!”?
Or spam. Miss Manners has noticed that spammers have adopted versions of “Dear one” as a salutation, sometimes ratcheting it up to “Beloved.”
They, too, seem to be interpreting it as ingratiating affection, rather than a neutral convention.
Miss Manners is not quite ready to let go of the conventional “Dear” salutation, and agrees with you that “Hi!” seems cheeky. But she is open to ideas if anyone can think of something simple and dignified.
The answer Miss Manners and her correspondent are looking for is "Good morning" (or "Good afternoon" or "Good evening").
It is simultaneously formal enough (you could totally say "Good morning" to the Queen) and informal enough (you could totally say it in any casual verbal conversation).
It doesn't have any connotations of affection, or of any emotion stronger than "polite greeting".
For some audiences, acknowledging the time of day can do the same general type of interpersonal work as "How was your weekend?"-type small talk, so it might add a soupçon of warmth to the interaction.
And, at the same time, it comes across as so utterly neutral that your correspondent is almost certainly not going to give it any thought, instead moving right on to the business of the email, which is what you want them to be doing in the first place!