J. K. Rowling Quotes

Except in streetcars one should never be unnecessarily rude to a lady.

I respect the social graces enormously. How to pass the food. Don't yell from one room to another. Don't go through a closed door without a knock. Open the doors for the ladies. All these millions of simple household behaviors make for a better life. We can't live in constant rebellion against our parents - it's just silly. I'm very well mannered. It's not an abstract thing. It's a shared language of expectations.

I hate rude behavior in a man,' he explained in his quiet, unassuming drawl. 'I won't tolerate it.' He politely tipped his hat, and rode away.

I feel like men don't hold the door open as much.

I grew up being taught, 'Do unto others as they would do unto you.' I would get scolded for not being polite.

In England, we have such good manners that if someone says something impolite, the police will get involved.

Manners are the hypocrisy of a nation.

Father told me that if I ever met a lady in a dress like yours, I must look her straight in the eyes.

When you've been brought up in variety, I think timing is always important in your life. If I'm ever late for anything, whether it's personal or business, I always apologise. 'I'm sorry I'm late,' and all that. And if somebody is late meeting me, I expect them to say 'I'm sorry I'm late.' It's just, shall we say, showbiz etiquette of my day.

I never let my politics supersede my manners.

People don't know how to behave in public anymore.

I think the thing I miss most in our age is our manners. It sounds so old-fashioned in a way. But even bad people had good manners in the old days, and manners hold a community together, and manners hold a family together; in a way, they hold the world together.

My family trained me to be polite to people I had just met, and that included strangers. You speak when you're spoken to. You look people in the eye when they address you and when you address them back.

Nowadays, manners are easy and life is hard.

I have a respect for manners as such, they are a way of dealing with people you don't agree with or like.

To Americans, English manners are far more frightening than none at all.

People are pretty respectful for the most part.

Grownups have to say 'please,' too.

Manners are the basic building blocks of civil society.

Etiquette is all human social behavior. If you're a hermit on a mountain, you don't have to worry about etiquette; if somebody comes up the mountain, then you've got a problem. It matters because we want to live in reasonably harmonious communities.

Nothing is less important than which fork you use. Etiquette is the science of living. It embraces everything. It is ethics. It is honor.

I would never disrespect anyone.

For me, politeness is a sine qua non of civilization.

Civility is not simply about manners.

Politeness is a desire to be treated politely, and to be esteemed polite oneself.