DEAR MISS MANNERS: Can you provide some advice on an effective, polite way to tell a close relative who constantly corrects minor grammatical errors or pronunciations to buzz off? She interrupts people regularly to correct them. I’m sure she believes she is providing a public service, but no one else regards it that way.
GENTLE READER: If you can say so pleasantly, Miss Manners will allow you to announce, “Ah! Lady Autocorrect herself!” when this happens. As picky people hate autocorrect, this should discourage her.
But the real comeuppance will be when your relative makes a mistake of her own, which she is bound to do, and you say, “Really? I always thought it was ...,” politely stating the correct version.
(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.)