THE RULES OF INTRODUCTION

Awkwardness RulesThe No-name RuleThe ‘Pleased to Meet You’ ProblemThe Embarrassment Rule

THE RULES OF ENGLISH GOSSIP

Privacy RulesThe Guessing-game RuleThe Distance RuleThe “print exception”Sex Differences in English Gossip RulesThe Tone RuleThe Feedback Rule

BONDING-TALK

Female Bonding: the Counter-compliment RulesMale Bonding: the Mine’s Better Than Yours Rules

THE LONG GOODBYE RULE

RULES OF TALK

HUMOUR RULES

THE IMPORTANCE OF NOT BEING EARNEST RULE

The ‘Oh, Come Off It!’ Rule

IRONY RULES

The Understatement RuleThe Self-deprecation Rule

PUB-TALK

THE RULES OF ENGLISH PUB-TALK

The Sociability RuleThe Invisible-queue RuleThe Pantomime RuleThe Rules of Ps and QsThe ‘And One for Yourself?’ Rule – and the Principles of Polite Egalitarianism

Exception to the Pantomime Rule & Other Rules of Regular-speak: Greeting Rules The Rules of Coded Pub-talk The Rules of the Pub-argument The Free-association Rule

HOME RULES

THE MOAT-AND-DRAWBRIDGE RULENESTBUILDING RULESCLASS RULES

HOUSE-TALK RULES: The ‘Nightmare’ RuleMoney-talk RulesThe Awful Estate-agent RuleImprovement-talk Rules

GARDEN RULESYour Own Front Garden, You May Not Enjoy’The Front-garden Social-availability RuleThe Back-garden Formula

RULES OF THE ROAD

PUBLIC TRANSPORT RULESThe Denial RuleExceptions to the Denial Rule:The Politeness ExceptionThe Information ExceptionThe Moan ExceptionThe Mobile-phone Ostrich Rule

COURTESY RULES‘Negative-politeness’ RulesBumping Experiments and the Reflex-apology RuleTaxi Exceptions to the Denial Rule – the Role of Mirrors

QUEUING RULESThe Indirectness RuleThe Paranoid Pantomime RuleBody-language and Muttering Rules

CAR RULESThe Status-indifference RuleCar-care and Decoration RulesCourtesy RulesThe Ostrich Rule

WORK TO RULE

THE MUDDLE RULESHUMOUR RULESThe Importance of Not Being Earnest RuleIrony and Understatement Rules

THE POLITE PROCRASTINATION RULETHE MONEY-TALK TABOOTHE MODERATION RULE

MOANING RULESThe Monday-morning MoanThe Time-moan and the Meeting-moanThe Mock-moaning Rule and the ‘Typical!’ Rule

OFFICE-PARTY RULES

Reading RulesThe ‘Shopping as Saving’ RulePet Rules and ‘Petiquette’Games EtiquetteThe Underdog RulePub RulesThe Rules of Round-buyingYou Are What You DrinkThe Rules of Drunkenness

RULES OF PLAY

DRESS CODE RULESFOOD RULESRULES OF SEXRITES OF PASSAGE

OTHER RULES