DEAR MISS MANNERS: I recently attended a dinner party where one of the other guests was someone whom I had met once, several years ago, and hadn't seen since. At that time, we were part of a large group visiting a park. Apparently she and I spent an hour or two walking around together and talking.

To be honest, I had no recollection of this event. She asked if I remembered, and seemed somewhat surprised and offended when I said I didn't.

After the dinner, a family member told me that I should've just nodded and said, "Oh yes, I remember, what a pleasant afternoon," or something like that. I was worried that I would be caught out in a lie -- I'm not a good liar -- and just confessed that I didn't remember. What do you think I should have done?

GENTLE READER: Certainly not asserted something that would quickly be revealed as untrue.

Taking serious offense when someone fails to remember you requires there to have been enough contact that a reasonable person would remember -- multiple introductions, for example, or having been married.

A single, long-ago conversation, even one of several hours, does not seem to qualify. However, Miss Manners cautions you to remember that neither is it a compliment to be forgotten. What your response lacked was an apology for forgetting, followed by a friendly change of subject.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: We rent out rooms in our home, and all tenants pitch in with chores. We are a bit like a blended family.

My husband came into a community room (the kitchen) where a tenant and I were already present. He proceeded to lecture me, saying I needed to let the tenants know about doing the dishes and not allowing them to pile up.

The tenant spoke up and said he had been doing dishes, and did not care who had dirtied them.

At this, my husband got irate and said, "This is a conversation between me and my wife. If I want your input, I will ask for it."

I believe my husband was in the wrong, and that if he wanted a private conversation, we should not have had it in a community area with a tenant present. Please advise us on the proper etiquette for private conversations.

GENTLE READER: Have them in private, which means out of earshot of the tenants. Miss Manners also does not look kindly on barking at tenants, business partners or relatives, real or assumed.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: As a physical therapist, I meet many people. Sometimes I do not know how to pronounce a new patient's surname.

We clinicians introduce ourselves by our first names, but I feel it would be disrespectful to greet a client with their first name until asked to do so, especially at a first meeting. What would be a polite way to address someone and ask for the correct pronunciation of their name?

GENTLE READER: "How do you do? I want to say your name correctly, so could you help me by telling me how you pronounce 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: My husband is a very sweet, good-natured guy. But lately, he keeps upsetting me with a particular annoying (and in my view, very inconsiderate) habit. He loves taking photos of me, including candid photos when I don't realize he is taking them.

I accept it is part of who he is, and I try to be patient about it. The really upsetting part is that he sometimes sends these photos out without my consent, even if I find them embarrassing. For example, he sends them to his family on a group chat that includes nine relatives. Today, he even sent an embarrassing photo to one of my friends/co-workers. I never find out until after these pictures are sent.

I have repeatedly tried to explain that this upsets me and is an invasion of my privacy. I also explained that some moments are intimate and should be left between us. But he doesn't get it and laughs it off. He claims all the photos are "cute" or "beautiful" and that I shouldn't mind.

The last two times that I found out he sent photos, I felt rage. What do I do?

GENTLE READER: He is not all that sweet and good-natured if his idea of fun is to hound, upset and embarrass his wife. This is not "part of who he is," as you assert; it is something he chooses to do.

And whoever put cameras within easy reach of all by putting them into telephones has a lot to answer for. Only an exhibitionist would want to live in constant public view, although there do seem to be a lot of those around.

But your problem is bigger than that. Miss Manners suggests that you stop arguing about the photographs and instead find out why your husband thinks it is all right to annoy and upset you.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: My son-in-law, Liam, has been asked to be the best man at the fall wedding of his friend Cody. Cody and Liam have communicated, at most, three or four times via text in the last three years.

Cody has asked Liam to throw a five-day destination bachelor party. Not only that, he and his fiancee are asking the members of the wedding party to fly to Austria for their "first" wedding, stay there for six days, then travel to Italy for their "second" wedding and stay there for another six days. (No one in the wedding party has any connection to these places.) And of course they are also expected to bestow a gift on the greedy couple.

My daughter figures attending the wedding would cost them about $20,000, and that's without the bachelor party. They would also have to take their young son with them.

Liam is afraid that if he says no, he will lose Cody as a friend, while my daughter is telling him that Cody already isn't his friend. (I'm trying to stay out of it.) If she is successful in convincing Liam not to participate in this fiasco, how can he back out gracefully?

My suggestion would be to call Cody and say, "You've got to be kidding. There's no way this is going to happen," but I'm sure you have a more gracious response that would still get the message across.

GENTLE READER: Unless you are also kidding. It is hard for Miss Manners to imagine that anyone would accept these terms -- let alone still want to be friends with the person who set them.

All Liam has to say is, "I'm sorry, but I had no idea what this would involve. I simply can't do it. We wish you all the best."

(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 was at a party for a financial business, where everyone was dressed up and having cocktails and hors d'oeuvres before a sit-down dinner and dancing. A woman stood nearby for several minutes with her back to me. When she turned and we caught each other's eyes, I told her I had been admiring her dress and that it was a very interesting print.

She responded, "Thank you, it's a (something Italian)."

I've heard of this type of response to a compliment before, but always thought it was some kind of joke -- perhaps making fun of certain types of people, like the Housewives of Wherever. I was totally unprepared for her comment, and just grunted in response. My first thought was to ask if she had gotten it at a thrift store, but I wisely kept that to myself.

I guess I don't run in the right circles, so can you enlighten me as to the proper reaction? Or was her statement a natural response to my comment on the print? What do I say next time besides "Oh"?

GENTLE READER: "Oh" is fine. What shocks Miss Manners is that you were unaware of the widespread habit of flaunting brand names.

And it's not just the rich. The manufacturers of those brands often sell small, less-expensive -- if still overpriced -- products featuring their name so that the non-wealthy can participate in this peculiar practice.

In addition, the appearance of "influencers" has planted the idea that admiration is connected with the desire to imitate; therefore, supplying you with specific information would be considered useful. As you stated an interest in the dress, this might have been the wearer's assumption. But that doesn't mean you need to continue such conversations.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: From time to time, I participate in potluck meals at church and with other groups. From experience, I know that if I bring deviled eggs, they will all be eaten. Sometimes, I bring other items, whether because of schedule, logistics or simple preference.

I also know from experience that some of the salads that I bring generally do not get eaten. These are dishes that I find delicious, but apparently participants do not find them appealing.

Is it somehow rude of me to persist in bringing offerings that I know have little likelihood of being consumed? After I bring the leftovers back home, I'm happy to eat them myself.

GENTLE READER: Very clever -- bringing something nobody likes, so that you can contribute without actually feeding anyone but yourself. While it is not a violation of the rules, Miss Manners counts it as a violation of the spirit of these events.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I was a dinner guest where the main course was a very spicy soup. I could barely eat it. Others at the table finished eating their servings.

Is there something polite I could have said to the hostess, as my full bowl of soup was removed from the table at the end of the meal?

GENTLE READER: Such as what?

"Couldn't finish it"? (Obvious.) "Too spicy"? (Rude.) "I have a delicate stomach"? (Too graphic, not to mention alarming.) "Yum"? (Dishonest and unbelievable.) "I'm full"? (So -- no dessert?)

Miss Manners can only hope that your hosts have the good manners not to peer into your soup plate and comment on the contents.

(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.)