Questions tagged [rudeness]

For questions where rudeness is pertinent to any party of an encounter, whether that is the person asking or a third party. Include other tags for cultural context! For questions regarding how to be polite, use the "politeness" tag.

There are some people in life that can come across as rude, or can overtly try to be rude to the people around them. Often in these situations it can be difficult to interact with them, reason with them, or just in general be with them. In addition some people can come across as rude without even meaning to when trying to achieve a certain goal or reply to a certain comment in a certain way. Questions here are about how to deal with rude people, but also situations where people come across as rude, and even situations where you may appear to be rude, even when that was not the intention.

This tag should be used with location tags for cultural context, like , and tags to describe your relationship to the other parties, like or .

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How do I deal with other people's screaming children in restaurants?

I want to start off by saying that I'm not referring to "family friendly" restaurants or other venues where a loud, informal atmosphere might be expected. I'm specifically asking about dining establishments where, under normal circumstances, a…
Beofett
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How to tell an overweight person that the hike will be too hard?

Please note, I don't want to be mean or anything and I don't want to go "fat shaming" or things like that. Context With my SO and a couple of friends, we planned a hike for this summer. The GR20 is one of the most difficult hikes in Europe and is…
iFlo
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How do I respond when an acquaintance asks if I'm smart?

I recently graduated college and I am now working as a programmer at a startup tech company for a year. I'm a competent programmer, but I'm definitely not a rock-star. When I'm meeting other young adults or college students and I tell them what I…
72
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9 answers

How can I politely tell someone I won't do my job for free?

I am a relatively open individual who is shy (for lack of a better word) around new people. One of my coworkers has a business and is asking for my help as a financial analyst outside of work, and while I'm more than happy to help my fear is that my…
Anoplexian
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Is it rude to drive at the speed limit on dangerous roads when another driver wants to go faster?

Each day, I drive through a heavily wooded area in a nature reservation (in the United States). The roads have many twists, turns and hills, and the speed limit is 25 miles per hour. Cars going much faster are likely to crash. There are few, if any,…
HDE 226868
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9 answers

How to make clear to people I don't want to answer their "Where are you from?" question?

I live in the UK but am not originally from here, having moved in the last decade. Quite often when I talk to people I get asked where I'm from. It usually seems to be in response to my accent, as I'm white, and since it's not a commonly heard…
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How to approach my spouse about their weight gain?

My spouse is and has always been quite overweight. From the beginning it was no problem for me, I just don't mind. Yet, since we've been living together, my spouse somehow put on a lot of weight (over the course of several years). Mostly because we…
Kaël
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Should I monetarily reward the person who found my phone?

I just lost my mobile phone in the bus on my way to work (left it on the seat). I called from another phone, and someone answered me, telling me that indeed I had left my phone in the bus seat. We are to meet in a public place by the end of the day,…
luchonacho
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56
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18 answers

How do you deal with someone who's pushing you without explaining yourself?

There are certain people, especially family members you see from time to time or other close relatives, who simply don't know where to stop when offering you something. Usually it's about drinking alcohol, eating cake or other things I must do…
brown-owl
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How do you deal with colleagues and people around you constantly passing judgement on you for not knowing something?

I'm unique in a lot of ways. I don't like sports, I'm not in touch with the current affairs, I don't have any opinion on most things and I don't know about most of the things that people talk about. However, I'm sure that there is a reason to all of…
Mugen
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11 answers

How do I politely end a cold call I've received?

I've kept my phone numbers out of the public domain now, as I really do not like being cold called by businesses or charities. I have found that I used to try and be polite, but then the person calling me would try to get a foot in the door by…
user57
52
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5 answers

How to deal with disruptive people in the cinema

In my last two cinema trips I have had disruptive people in the cinema. One was a group of 4-5 early 20s men, one of whom in particular was talking very loudly. I stared at him until he looked back at me, and I did the international sign for "what…
WhatEvil
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Is it rude to ask if a pregnancy was planned?

When someone tells you that they (or their partner) are pregnant, is it rude or impolite to ask if the pregnancy was planned? I imagine it depends on how close one is to the couple or one of the (future) parents, but there might be cultural…
luchonacho
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How to tell your grandparent to not come to fetch you with their car?

I often come to visit my grandparents during the weekend and they will always come to fetch me at the train station in their car. However, my grandpa (who is the one driving) is old and his vision has deteriorated a lot lately. He can still drive…
Ael
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46
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How to explain to coworkers that being vegan does not mean I know everything about it?

The other day, I was in a company meal with ~20 coworkers and someone offered me wine before adding: "At least you know this is vegan." (because I'm vegan). I don't like alcohol so I politely refused before adding with a smile: "In fact, not all…
Ael
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