At a party one evening, the restaurant critic Seymour Britchky found himself conversing with a terrible bore. "How are you?" the man asked. "Exactly the same," Britchky replied.

When the man persisted, Britchky simply remarked: "Funny you should ask." "Why's that?" the man asked. "That's all," Britchky replied. "Just funny you should ask."

[Journalist Horatia Lawson was once given a useful party tip by another wily writer. Carrying two glasses everywhere offers a handy excuse for dodging a bore: you have a drink to deliver. And, if all else fails, the extra drink will furnish enough alcohol to get through even the dullest encounter!]