DEAR MISS MANNERS: When I extend an invitation, and the response I receive ends in “but I think I’ll pass,” I find it a bit rude. Am I being oversensitive? Is that a perfectly acceptable response?
If you decide to respond with “Thanks for the question, but I think I’ll pass,” I will never stop laughing.
GENTLE READER: Tempting. But Miss Manners is in full agreement with you. This phrase might be one of the rudest she has ever heard. Not only is it nastily dismissive, but its implication is that the invitation does not live up to the recipient’s standards -- or that the issuer is hiding something better. Either way, Miss Manners suggests you take a pass on extending further ones.