wwnorton:

Dear Miss Manners:

I hope you will give me the answer to a problem that confronts me every now and then: Two people (a male and a female) walk toward each other on a sidewalk. As they pass each other, should each step to the right, even though the curbside is on the female’s right, or should the male step to the curbside and the female to the inside, even though the inside is to the female’s left?

It is so embarrassing to step to the right and have the other person step to the left at the same time—and then to have each reverse. This impromptu “Turkey Trot” can be repeated three or four times, with both parties apologizing profusely, until one or the other stands still and lets the other go by. If both were to stand still simultaneously, I can visualize the problem recurring, but this is unlikely.

I’ll very much appreciate your advice as to the accepted directions in which a male and female pedestrian should step when passing each other on the sidewalk.

Gentle Reader:

The idea in chess, as in life, is to see what is coming before it arrives and plan ahead to avoid undesirable confrontations. The basic move is that everyone steps to the right on uncheckered sidewalks—ladies, gentlemen, knights, and bishops.

-an excerpt from Miss Manners’ Guide to Excruciatingly Correct Behavior

(this post was reblogged from wwnorton)

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