politeness :

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politeness

puh lahyt nuhs

  • n  a courteous manner that respects accepted social usage
  • n  the act of showing regard for others

  • Streetcar's director, Elia Kazan, loved this performance because of the way Brando "challenges the whole system of politeness and good nature and good ethics and everything else.
  • Who needs diplomacy and all its excruciating politeness? Not even the traditional "Yankee Go Home" was enough to convey the pique of Venezuelan President Hugo Chvez on Thursday .
  • They are crafting their own style, an unfocused commitment to doing things differently with in-your-face manners that are shocking a country that reveres politeness.
News & Articles

  • Stifling student protest at Northeastern University
    Colleges used to be hotbeds of political activity, combative marketplaces of ideas. Now they’re overpriced country clubs with gleaming gyms, sushi, and a culture of enforced politeness that is downright depressing.        
    June 13, 2013 - Boston Globe

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