DEAR ABBY: My boss and his wife recently hosted an employee appreciation dinner party at their home. We have close to 100 employees, and because of limited space, we were asked not to bring children. However, the invitations did indicate "and guest" (or our spouse's or significant other's name, if they knew it).
One of my co-workers, a single woman, asked me if I thought it would be OK if she brought a female friend (not someone she is in a relationship with). My interpretation of the invite in this particular situation was that if one co-worker couldn't bring their teenage child due to space limitations, it wouldn't be appropriate for another to bring a casual friend. To me, it seemed to be bad manners. What do you think? -- APPRECIATION DINNER
DEAR APPRECIATION: When a host issues an invitation that says "and guest," it means the host is prepared to accommodate whomever the invitee would like to bring. According to my interpretation, it would be wrong to bring a teenager to an adults-only business-related dinner because the younger person would likely feel out of place. However, bringing a companion along would not be considered a breach of etiquette.