DEAR MISS MANNERS: On a visit with my niece, I brought a phone charger to plug in, but for some reason it did not function properly. With the hosts’ phones, mine, and those of the other houseguests, there were six phones in the house with only three or four cords, so charging was a “take turns” event.

While things went swimmingly in sharing, what would be the expected priority on who gets the charger? Houseguest, host, adults, children?

It would be nice to know for the next get-together, just in case. That way I could tell them, “Well, Miss Manners said!!!” Just kidding. Miss Manners has taught me not to be so uncouth!

GENTLE READER: Oh, no, you don’t. There isn’t going to be a next time, because you will have learned to check your cord before you leave home.

Decades ago, Miss Manners was plagued with questions about guests who tied up their hosts’ landlines and made expensive calls. Then people acquired cellphones -- but not yet smartphones, tablets and laptops -- and wanted to tie up their hosts’ computers.

Now we have easily portable electronics, and guests are responsible for bringing what they intend to use, just as they bring their own toothbrushes. It would be kind of hosts to provide emergency supplies of either, if they happen to have them.

A guest who has such an emergency should ask apologetically to borrow a cord when it does not inconvenience the family, including the children, and return it quickly. A houseguest, presumably staying longer, should run out to the nearest electronics store.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: Is it rude to eat while walking in public? By “public,” I’m thinking of a mall or a sidewalk in a city.

I imagine the answer turns on what you are eating: hard candy, an energy bar, ice cream, an apple, french fries, a hot dog from a street vendor, a cheeseburger from a fast-food restaurant, etc. If the food matters, where, if at all, is the line to be drawn? Or is it just a matter of your eating neatly and being sure to properly dispose of any leftovers?

GENTLE READER: The European city to which Miss Manners retreats when she needs a major dose of public politeness has just outlawed the selling of food to be eaten on the streets, thus reducing trash, mess and smells. Very sensible, she believes.

She also agrees with the city’s one exception: ice cream. It doesn’t smell, the wrapping is edible, and it looks more cheerful than sloppy.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: If you tell the cook the food is overdone, is it a insult?

GENTLE READER: The cook thinks so, and would have some choice words to say about your taste. That is why you should let the waiter deliver the message, along with the rejected food.

If there is no waiter involved, as in a personal setting, Miss Manners requires you to swallow the comment, if not the food.

(Please send your questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners.com; to her email, dearmissmanners@gmail.com; or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.)

DEAR MISS MANNERS: After a long flight from overseas, my plane landed and I called my family to say that I had arrived safely. A few minutes after this phone call, and after going through customs, I realized that I had either left my phone on my seat or it had fallen out of my pocket when I went to retrieve my bag from the overhead compartment.

My phone had a case storing my credit card and driver’s license. As I could not return to the plane myself, I found a security guard, who found a representative from the airline to assist me.

Before I could explain what happened, she snapped, “How could you be so irresponsible and not check for all your valuables before leaving the flight?”

I was taken aback and could only mumble in response. I finally must have asked if there was anything that could be done. She said that she was not able to go to the plane and the only thing was to wait to see if the cleaning crew retrieved it.

Luckily, a few moments later, a different representative arrived with my phone. I thanked them politely and walked away.

However, I was so taken aback by this customer service rep. How should I have responded to her? I agree that I should have double-checked for my valuables before leaving the plane, but after a 10-hour flight, I was very tired and obviously, though unintentionally, overlooked it.

GENTLE READER: People are going to tell you that you are lucky they didn’t beat you up. And airline employees are going to tell you that you are the 112th person that day to forget something after their clear announcement about checking for personal belongings.

Nevertheless, this was unprofessional and rude. Those who take jobs dealing with the public should know how to deal with their own understandable exasperation. And as you had already failed to heed the warning, the representative accomplished nothing -- except to get you to vow never to take that airline again (unless the flight is cheap and convenient).

Miss Manners would have said tersely, “Thank you for your courtesy” while checking the person’s nameplate.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: My dinner parties now include sushi for either the appetizer or the main course, yet I cannot find a satisfactory answer on where to place the stainless chopsticks.

I cannot replace the regular utensils, because not all guests use the chopsticks. I initially set them above the dinner plate, where the dessert service would be, which caused much confusion, as I always serve dessert. If it matters, this would be a four-course formal dinner.

GENTLE READER: You are in luck. Japanese chopsticks are correctly placed horizontally at the bottom edge of the plate, thus not competing with the flatware positioned at the sides and top of the plate for the other three courses.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: Is it OK to have a money tree at a baby shower?

GENTLE READER: If you want the baby to grow up to be a little beggar who believes that money grows on trees.

(Please send your questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners.com; to her email, dearmissmanners@gmail.com; or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.)

DEAR MISS MANNERS: Since announcing my first pregnancy to close friends and family, I have been inundated with offers of free baby equipment. Most of these offers come up naturally in conversation.

I don’t want to appear ungrateful, but I was looking forward to the experience of getting everything new -- something I rarely allow myself in life, plus I am an older mother and able to provide for myself better than I would have been a decade ago. Aside from that, I am simply unfamiliar with a lot of these supplies and don’t know if I want them, nor if I have the space to store them.

And to be honest, babies are messy and I don’t know that I want used items; I’d rather see them go to someone without means. My hesitation is usually followed up with an admonition that I’ll change my tune once I realize how expensive baby stuff is. How do I gracefully decline or rebuff these requests without offending?

GENTLE READER: Without explanation. You are only inciting a smug-parent war and, as you will see, your life will soon be filled with those.

“Thank you, no, I already have more than I need,” is a sufficient answer. But if these parents insist, Miss Manners recommends that you then discreetly donate the items or give them away, so as to avoid a lecture. Having your water break is also a good distraction.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I do vocational training with the cognitively disabled and people suffering from mental illness. When a co-worker came to me and said a client had asked her for candy, I told the client that it was not acceptable to ask people to give him candy, though he could accept candy if it were offered to him.

Was I too hard on the client? Is it acceptable to ask people to give you candy?

GENTLE READER: Only, it seems, if you preface it by saying, “Trick or treat!”

Since you are working with these clients on vocational skills, it seems to Miss Manners that teaching them practical behavioral and social practices would be at the top of that list. Doing it with kindness and a certain amount of indulgence, however, is obviously preferable.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: My dear friend’s father recently passed away. I had never met the deceased, but I was close to my friend throughout his father’s final illness, and plan to attend the funeral.

Because the funeral will be held out of state and involve significant travel, he does not expect me to attend. Should I inform him in advance that I will be making the trip?

Showing up unannounced feels like staging an ill-timed and self-aggrandizing “surprise!” However, a special conversation about it feels self-centered in his time of grief, and obliges him to appear grateful for some future and unasked-for act of chivalry.

GENTLE READER: Send a condolence letter that includes a version of the statement, “I will see you at the funeral.” Not giving your friend the chance to protest your efforts is not only kind, but correct. A funeral is the rare social event, Miss Manners points out, that does not require a response. Or -- one can only hope -- much advanced notice.

(Please send your questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners.com; to her email, dearmissmanners@gmail.com; or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.)