Mary Killen Mary Killen

Your problems solved | 27 March 2004

Etiquette advice from The Spectator's Miss Manners

Dear Mary

Q. Despite the fact that I have been attending parties for many years, I have not yet mastered the art of laughing at jokes that I do not find remotely funny. Can you think of any solutions?
Name and address withheld

A. It is well known in humorist circles that many of those who are in clear possession of a sense of humour do not necessarily respond to funniness by laughing. Indeed, a smile never breaches the lips of one of our leading humorists. Instead she reacts to good jokes with an expressionless face, shaking her head sagely and intoning ‘That’s very funny’ in a slow and monotonous voice. You could adapt this method to your own use since it gives the impression that the joke is so profoundly funny that it is beyond smiling or laughing at.

Q. Last weekend my wife and I were lent a country cottage belonging to two married friends while they were away in Wales. Everything was perfect, including the extremely comfortable bed. The only thing that marred this idyllic holiday setting was the electric kettle in the kitchen, which, as people knowledgable about antiques, we estimated to be of some considerable age. I should add that my wife is a connoisseur of the ‘golden leaf’ and will partake only of the most delicate Darjeeling (such as that purveyed in square green tins at Fortnum and Mason), and she found the combination of that fine blend with geological levels of limescale not quite to her taste. We paid a visit to an electrical goods emporium in the local town and bought a shiny new kettle. This resplendent article we left behind in the hope that it would come as a welcome surprise to our friends.

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