Giving an R.S.V.P. to an Invitation
Why do invitations written in English inevitably include the initials of the French phrase Répondez S’il Vous Plaît? The French phrase for “respond if you please” became a staple of high society’s invitations in the 18th and 19th centuries because French was considered a classier alternative to English for social occasions. Although this habit of using French for everything fell by the wayside, by 1845 these four letters were standing alone on English invitations to request a response.
Allowing a Lady to Walk at a Man's Right Side
The matter of where to walk has been a hot topic in the history of etiquette. Some sources say that the right side, which historically would have been away from a right-handed knight’s sheathed sword, is the honorary side on which a woman or other person deserving of respect should be allowed to walk. Today, the rule of allowing a lady to walk at a man's right side is superseded by the practice of granting women the “interior” side away from the perilous road so as not to subject her to splashes or runaway carriages.
Covering Your Mouth to Yawn
There have been many reasons cited historically to cover your yawns. Yawns were thought to be the soul escaping the body, the evil spirits entering, and yet another sign of the Plague. As early as 1653, yawning became considered a sign of boredom, and thus a rude comment on your present company (and therefore something you’d want to stifle or hide).
Shaking Hands
Shaking hands upon greeting was originally adopted several centuries ago in England as a means of establishing that neither party was armed. Removing or tipping one’s hat as a sign of respect has a similar origin to that of shaking hands. Knights would flip up their visors and render themselves more vulnerable as a display of friendliness and submission in the face of superiors.
Pinky Out
It seems as though historians can’t decide why people initially held cups with their pinky out. The experts at the Emily Post Institute say it comes from the Middle Ages, when Europeans still ate with their fingers and at the transition of utensils being invented. People would keep their ring finger and pinky out and away from the food when eating with their other fingers, so that their clean fingers could be used for other purposes. Other etiquette experts such as Miss Manners (aka Judith Martin) suggest when tea was brought to Europe from China, the tea was drunk in dainty, handleless cups and, the pinky, and possibly other fingers, was held in the air due to the heat from the cup. Both theories are interesting, but the consensus is that the gesture as it evolved actually became rude and connoted w. elitism. It comes from the fact that cultured people would eat their tea goodies with three fingers and commoners would hold the treats with all five fingers. Thus was born the misguided belief that one should raise their pinky finger to show they were cultured.