Etiquette Sayings and Quotes

Below you will find our collection of inspirational, wise, and humorous old etiquette quotes, etiquette sayings, and etiquette proverbs, collected over the years from a variety of sources.

Etiquette can be at the same time a means of approaching people and of staying clear of them. David Riesman
Politeness and consideration for others is like investing pennies and getting dollars back. Thomas Sowell
Politeness is the chief sign of culture. Baltasar Gracian
Those who have mastered etiquette, who are entirely, impeccably right, would seem to arrive at a point of exquisite dullness. Dorothy Parker
Etiquette is what you are doing and saying when people are looking and listening. What you are thinking is your business. Virginia Cary Hudson
Good manners and kindness are always in fashion. Anonymous
Good manners is just being respectful of others. Whether you know them or not, you should show respect for all people. John Patrick Hickey
Politeness is the art of choosing among one's real thoughts. Abel Stevens
Politeness is a sign of dignity, not subservience. Theodore Roosevelt
Good manners are just a way of showing other people that we have respect for them. Bill Kelly
Etiquette means behaving yourself a little better than is absolutely essential. Will Cuppy
Politeness is something you owe other people, because when you show a little courtesy, everything becomes easier and better. But first and foremost, it's something you owe yourself. Anne Holm
There is no policy like politeness; and a good manner is the best thing in the world either to get a good name, or to supply the want of it. Edward Bulwer Lytton
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. Judith Martin
To learn etiquette, is actually learning how to see others, and respect them. Yixing Zhang
Manners are a sensitive awareness of the feelings of others. If you have that awareness, you have good manners, no matter what fork you use. Anonymous
Etiquette requires us to admire the human race. Mark Twain
Good manners are ageless, priceless and classless. Diana Mather
Treat everyone with politeness, even those who are rude to you not because they are nice, but because you are. Anonymous
Good manners are made up of petty sacrifices. Ralph Waldo Emerson
Etiquette a fancy word for simple kindness. Elsa Maxwell
Politeness induces morality. Serenity of manners requires serenity of mind. Julia Ward Howe
He who observes etiquette but objects to lying is like someone who dresses fashionably but wears no vest. Walter Benjamin
Let us be guests in one another's house / With deferential 'No' and courteous 'Yes.' / Let us take care to hide our foolish moods / Behind a certain show of cheerfulness. / Let us avoid all sullen silences. Carol Haynes
The question is not whether I treat you rudely, but whether you've ever heard me treat anyone else better. Professor Henry Higgins
Your lack of manners is only exceeded by your lack of manners. Dale Carnegie
Is there no respect of place, persons, nor time in you? William Shakespeare
I'm not concerned with your liking or disliking me...All I ask is that you respect me as a human being. Jackie Robinson
Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. 1 Peter 4:9
No guest is so welcome in a friend's house that he will not become a nuisance after three days. Titus Maccius Plautus
Visitors are insatiable devourers of time, and fit only for those who, if they did not visit, would do nothing. William Cowper
I never make the mistake of arguing with people for whose opinions I have no respect. Edward Gibbon
If the person you are talking to doesn't appear to be listening, be patient. It may simply be that he has a small piece of fluff in his ear. Winnie the Pooh
To do exactly as your neighbor's do is the only sensible rule. Emily Post
Manners are a sensitive awareness of the feelings of others. If you have that awareness, you have good manners, no matter what fork you use. Emily Post
Being considerate of others will take your children further in life than any college degree, Marian Wright
Do not speak of repulsive matters at the table. Amy Vanderbilt
We are born charming, fresh, and spontaneous, and must be civilized before we are fit to participate in society. Judith Martin
Fashion exists for women with no taste, etiquette for people with no breeding. Queen Marie of Rumania
We must conform, to a certain extent, to the conventionalities of society, for they are the ripened results of a varied and long experience. A.A. Hodge
A man may with more impunity be guilty of an actual breach, either of real good breeding or good morals than appear ignorant of the most minute points of fashionable etiquette. Walter Scott
Life be not so short but that there is always time for courtesy. Ralph Waldo Emerson
Doesn't matter what a person's name is as long as he behaves himself. L.M. Montgomery
Freedom without rules doesn't work. And communities do not work unless they are regulated by etiquette. Judith Martin
Reading at meals is considered rude in polite society, but if you expect to succeed as a writer, rudeness should be the second to least of your concerns. The least of all should be polite society and what it expects. Stephen King
Good manners have much to do with emotions. To make them ring true, one must feel them, not merely exhibit them. Amy Vanderbilt
A hat should be taken off when greeting a lady, and left off the rest of your life. Nothing looks more stupid than a hat. P.J. O'Rourke
Manners are the ability to put someone else at their ease...by turning any answer into another question. Tina Brown
If there are to be rules, they must be articulable and defensible, like etiquette. I do not do anything simply because my family did it. I do things because they make sense and because they are elegant. Kathleen Rooney
The civilized human stands firm on their conviction and says, I don't obey no etiquette, I don't obey no norm - whatever is civilized is born of me, whatever is human is born of me. Abhijit Naskar
Go to any bookstore, and you'll see thousands of books on etiquette, which suggests there's a lot of self-help going on. There is hope. Letitia Baldridge
I have always tried to play the right way, and I honestly believe for the most part the etiquette in snooker is very good. So when there are breaches, and there are, it stands out. Neil Robertson
Etiquette, respect, and love, embellish and beautify the character; whereas, also that reach and qualify the success of life. Ehsan Sehgal