"Excuse me please" - is this lost forever?

I know! If people don't say it to me I say it for them, loudly, in their direction.

Corollary:- Why, when you do say it do the majority of people seem to look at you as if you've insulted them and then simply ignore the request.

I think it depends where you live. People in Hull are very polite and friendly compared with those London folk, that's for sure.

FWIW, I always say it to others ?

I say this, and I try and say it really nicely, but people mostly react like I've said 'get out of the way', and then I feel bad! I also say 'Excuse me' to mean 'I'm sorry I need to walk between you and the shelf you are looking at' and people react teh same way so maybe I need a new phrase!

This bugs me too, though I am not sure if it bugs me as much as if you say it to someone and they just ignore you then tut when you try to move past them!

I find this, they turn around and scowl at you as if to say, "You're asking ME to move?".

I say it all the time, especially with pram. Sometimes people are amazingly helpful and apologetic for not having spotted me coming. Sometimes I get an eye roll, a tut and a movement that needs Vernier calipers to be measured. In which case I tend to get flustered and become a very bad driver.

I always say excuse me please, my mum would slap me round the back of the head if she caught me doing otherwise. I find the worst times are when you're in a supermarket and two women have stopped to have a chat and their trolleys are blocking the whole aisle. You say excuse me please, very politely and get the look of death, or a mouthful of abuse. The most annoying response I received was 'you're not in work, you have time to wait' I almost hit her with my baguette, rude cow.

I am always polite to people though, but I find its seldom that people are the same back. Though, I do quite often get complimented by older people on my good manners.

I've noticed that saying "sorry" seems to have replaced "excuse me" - several times recently people have kind of pressed up against me in town and then said "sorry" with a look that said they expected me to move out of the way. Isn't that completely the wrong context in which to use "sorry"?

Someone growled at me yesterday in Marks "I NEED to get past you", as they barged past, almost decapitating a runt with their shopping. Like Hazel, I inexplicibly lost control of the pushchair which accidentally ran into their ankles at the next aisle.

Oops.

I say it all the time, so does my 3 year old. My mum,too, would have choice words with me if I did not.

? excellent middle class violence

? excellent middle class violence

That happens to me a LOT. Weird, huh?

i got IYHKYWU-ed the other day ?

a woman had parked her trolley, sideways, bang opposite a shelf stackers trolley full of boxes. so the total aisle was blocked. the shopper was a few yards up looking at some shelves. incidently it was one of those trollies with a baby bassinet thing.

and when i said 'excuse me' (very politely and with a smile on my face) she huffed and said 'you could be patient i do have a baybeh you know.' what's that got to do with the price of fish is anyone's guess. plus in my frame of mind that day she's lucky i didn't launch myself at her...

? That must have been awful. I'll come along next time and hit her with my baguette too. If nothing else, it'll probably make you laugh