In my quaker community, it Was Not Done to use honoriffics of any sort. However, as far as I was concerned, my public school teachers had no first names. Then I went to college down south. Miss, Miz, Mr, ma'am, sir, EVERYWHER. But a quaker college, so again with the no honorrifics, teachers used their first names. Except the creepy polisci prof. Up here, most kids call me Miz Sara, but then so do some adult neighbors. It really depends on the circle. And even then, I have no damned clue. I call people what they are introduced by, if I'm lucky.

"Asiago Roast Beef Sandwich", the "Asian Sesame Chicken Salad", or the "Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad"?

Asiago Roast Beef!

I think I'll go pick up my new glasses. And maybe grab some lunch on the way back.

I call people what they are introduced by, if I'm lucky.

Yes, that helps sometimes. But, if I'm being introduced to someone who says "this is Bob Smith", then where do I go?

When I was a kid, I'd address my parents' friends as "Mr." or "Mrs." ("Miss" would have been an option if they'd had any unmarried female friends, which I don't remember them having.) Within the family, we'd refer to them by first and last name.

Example: "Mom, why are we stopping at Mary Smith's house? Hello, Mrs. Smith."

Aunts and Uncles got first names, preceded by "Aunt" or "Uncle." Usually the biological relation was named first. So, "Uncle Ed and Aunt Judy" for my mother's brother and his wife, but "Aunt Joyce and Uncle Dan" for my father's sister and her husband. Similar treatment for cousins who were old enough to be parents, otherwise first-name-only. So my godmother was "Cousin Joan," but her children were "Kelly and Bradley."

Grandparents were "Grand[mother/father] [Lastname]."

We didn't have honorific aunts or uncles, and I only knew one person who got that treatment. Aunt Judy's parents had some difficulty that I never was told the details, and a non-relative kind of took her in as a kid. When Aunt Judy had kids of her own, the non-relative became "Grandma Viva" to them.

Funny, I don't remember it being so complicated when I was 5.

But, if I'm being introduced to someone who says "this is Bob Smith", then where do I go?

Then I'm not lucky.

Then I'm not lucky.

heh. I go with nice to meet you. Sometimes I forget their name and ask for it, which helps.

Our lunch options have been canceled, sadly. The hotel where we're having the thing said we're not allowed to bring in outside food, so we have to get hotel sandwiches. *sigh*

But, bon, I don't see the point of that statement if France and the US are similarly uncheered by an increase in physical exertion.

I think of exercise and the nation's self-esteem being related as a myth that everyone knows is a myth, if they even grant it any status at all.

I think it has changed a lot in America. For example, when I first started working at Penney's (which isn't that long ago), we referred to all the managers as Mr. or Mrs. or Ms. and we were adults! The name tagseven said "Mrs. McNulty, Customer Service Manager" About 2 years after I started, we had a new crop of managers, and they all went by their first names, except for the Store Manager, who was still Mr. Hester.

But, bon, I don't see the point of that statement if France and the US are similarly uncheered by an increase in physical exertion.

I think the idea is that increased self esteem is not a biological fact, it's cultural, and you can see it if you consider it from the French perspective. The reason why the French may not have this myth is because they don't consider exercise a moral virtue. I guess.