DEAR MISS MANNERS: The day after my father’s funeral, a friend who had been in attendance called me on the telephone. She proceeded to ask, “So, do you think your mother will start dating?”

I was appalled, and replied, “I really don’t want to think about that.” She then scolded me with, “You can’t be like that. It’s your mother’s life and you have to be supportive!” I said firmly, “My father has just died.” She replied, “Too soon?” She said the last in a tone that suggested she felt her question was perfectly reasonable.

Was I too sensitive? Are such questions appropriate under these circumstances? I feel that I know the answer, but I would like Miss Manners to share her thoughts all the same.

GENTLE READER: Her chief thought is that you must protect your mother against such a person. The very callousness of those Get Over It types means that they are likely to be persistent.

Miss Manners should not have to bolster your sense that such a suggestion is outrageous to the newly bereaved -- as it is to yourself, in suggesting that you are acting against your mother’s best interests -- and nosy ever after.

But you will have to be stern about making that clear by saying, “My mother is in mourning, as am I. If you cannot accept that, I beg you to refrain from upsetting us.”

DEAR MISS MANNERS: One of my dinner guests, after eating chicken piccata, rice, broccoli and salad, stated: “I couldn’t eat here every night or I would gain so much weight!“

I said, “I don’t think so,” and he stated, “I’m just making conversation.” What do you think?

GENTLE READER: That he is not likely to make such a remark again. One way to stop a careless remark is to take it at face value.

But you and Miss Manners both know that what your guest meant was not that your food is fattening, but that it is so good that he would not be able to control himself. So don’t be too hard on him.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: My wife and I wondered what the proper etiquette is for mask wearing and placement at an outdoor sit-down restaurant.

We saw couples wearing no masks at all, which seemed rude to the staff and risky to the diners. We also saw couples wearing masks the whole time, lifting them up only to take food or drink, but that seemed impractical.

I want to be able to tuck my mask out of the way when eating and talking with my in-bubble quarantine companion, but have it ready to go when waitstaff come by. What do you recommend?

GENTLE READER: Consider that rather than adding a problem, this situation has removed the problem of whether you should wear a tie. (All right, you wouldn’t have anyway, but for the sake of argument.) While you are eating or drinking, your mask should be worn around your neck. That way you can pull it up quickly when needed, instead of rummaging around wherever you left it.

(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: A current real-life friend sent me a friend request on social media, and I accepted. I have regularly liked quite a few of this friend’s posts -- about half of them -- and even commented once or twice with something such as “That’s great!” or “Congratulations!”

Never once has this friend liked or reacted in any way to any of my posts.

We are both relatively active on social media, engaging with mutual friends, and neither of us posts anything controversial, bragging, or weird. I am aware that some of my posts may not have been seen by my friend, or that the algorithm may be somewhat responsible, but I cannot believe that all of my posts have been accidentally overlooked.

I don’t want to make assumptions or be petty about this, but I think it is human nature to be a little bit hurt. I feel very foolish continuing to like my friend’s posts while receiving nothing in response, so I have totally stopped. I refuse to ask my friend what’s going on because that would not be well received. What would you suggest in this situation?

GENTLE READER: Well, now you know how people feel when others do not acknowledge their invitations or presents.

Only you have not actually done anything for your friend when you distribute personal information online, so there is no etiquette violation when your audience does not keep cheering you on.

If you want to know how your real-life friend really feels about you, Miss Manners recommends making a real-life personal overture.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I sent my godson a card with a gift of money for his 17th birthday. He never contacted me to say thank you. His mom (my very good friend) called me about two weeks after his birthday just to talk and, during the conversation, thanked me for the gift of money.

This is not the first time this has happened, and I get upset each time. He, not his mom, should call me or send me a written thank-you. I feel it is the parent’s responsibility to teach their children this basic concept, but my friend hasn’t and it bothers me.

How do I approach wanting a thank-you from him, and not his mom, without offending my friend? He is a great kid and very well-mannered; however, I feel he is old enough to thank me himself.

GENTLE READER: You approach him. Understandably, you do not want a surrogate to respond to your present, so do not use that surrogate to register your complaint.

“Caleb, dear,” you say, “your mother told me that you got my check. But you’ve never told me if it was welcome. If I don’t get any direct feedback from you, I have no way of knowing whether you were pleased.”

Miss Manners suggests the use of the word “feedback,” because it is so familiar from social media. And she trusts that you are aware of the latent threat there.

(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: I’m a woman in my 50s with decades of professional experience working for high-profile individuals. I’m more international than many diplomats, as well as trendy and attractive, and apparently I can pass for five to 10 years younger. Nevertheless, I am overwhelmed with how ageism and sexism are affecting me.

In the last decade, my family dumped a gravely ill family member on me, I went through an atrocious divorce that left me penniless, and I raised my children with zero outside support. One of my children has been very ill for years, so we’ve been more on welfare than off, leaving me with an illness myself. I haven’t had a boyfriend in eight years, due to exhaustion and disinterest.

It’s become apparent that my expertise is no longer needed in a workplace as I can’t even get interviews, so I became a tech entrepreneur. I’ve never been so happy, and I’m thriving more than ever, but it’s early days and I’m still broke.

I try to be patient until people “get” me. However, I am delirious with rage at the number of ultra-arrogant men between 20 and 35 who try to dominate me at work. Younger women do it, too, but catch on faster, and I can handle the older men. It’s the young men with three to 10 years of experience under their belts (often composed entirely of fluff) who are mind-bogglingly condescending. I have quite literally no time to sit around listening to their bragging and bravado.

Life may have made me overly sensitive, but I have a fantastic therapist and work intensively on managing my emotions. I’m known for being very friendly, polite and fair -- so maybe these guys are taking me for an idiot?

I told one, whom I knew pretty well, “You are mansplaining, and it’s annoying.” He cried and we couldn’t work together anymore. I want to nip this in the bud as early as possible so we can get down to business. Got anything for me?

GENTLE READER: Yes: sympathy. But only with the caveat that, as irritating as these young men may be, you still have to be polite to them. Telling someone that they are annoying or making generalizations about their demographic is neither friendly, polite nor fair -- traits for which you claim to be known.

“Yes, I believe I just said that” is a way to show displeasure at “mansplaining.” Or a reminder that self-promotion, unless it is on behalf of (credited) shared victories is unseemly: “I believe that Marla was also involved on that project,” or “Oh, that was your golf score? I’m sorry, but I thought you were talking about business matters. Let us stick to that while we are at work.”

The business world is having a moment right now wherein it is addressing the historically dominant voices that have previously prevailed. Miss Manners hopes that your office will take advantage of the restructuring. If not, perhaps you can suggest it.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I find myself occasionally asked about what church I attend or invited to attend someone’s church that I have no interest in. I consider my beliefs to be private, and I definitely don’t want to get into a religious discussion about my beliefs or listen to an explanation of someone else’s religion. How do I politely get out of the conversation?

GENTLE READER: “Thank you, your church sounds lovely. I am happy with my current one, and if you don’t mind, consider religion a private matter. But tell me, how is your career in politics going?”

(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.)