Are there any circumstances in which a male goes through the door ahead of a female?

Bill Dawson, Liverpool

Oh yes. If he is the Prince of Wales, the Archbishop of Canterbury, or some other dignitary who formally takes precedence. If the October weather is raging with its customary violence, the man may lead the way in order to put up his umbrella or to hail a cab. But in general the polite gent lets others (particularly the young) take precedence through a door, in order to set them a good example and teach them manners.

Can you please explain why dukes and marquesses are always “of somewhere”, princes, earls viscounts and barons can be “of somewhere” or not, and life peers can be almost anything they choose?

Patrick Langrishe, Ashford

Every viscount and baron is described in his letters patent of creation as being of a place in the United Kingdom, followed by the appropriate county, eg Baron Redmayne, of Rushcliffe in the County of Nottingham. The place may be his residence, domicile, former constituency, or some location with which he has a connection. Such description is not used except in formal documents. Some peers have a territorial name which forms part of their title, such as Baron Ritchie of Dundee. This may be granted for two main reasons: as a special honour (eg Earl Mountbatten of Burma); or as a method of differentiation from the title of another peer (eg Baron Erroll of Hale, to distinguish him from the holder of the Earldom of Erroll). Differentiation may also be necessary if the first part of the title sounds like an existing peerage, even if the spelling varies (eg Baron Hylton and Baron Hilton of Upton).

If you have unwanted food on your plate, do you leave it as is or do you push it into a neat pile?

Robert Potter, Binfield

The fastidious diner does not leave unwanted food on his plate. He has helped himself to the right amount. If he has miscalculated, he leaves the uneaten residue as it lies and lays his knife and fork at 6.30 hours (tines upward please). The exception is if you wish to conceal your distaste for your host(ess)’s cooking. It may then be good manners to conceal the rancid haddock beneath the mashed potato. At school we used to shovel the fish pie into our sponge bags, when the beak wasn’t looking.

I have a male friend (in his seventies) who, when I invite him out to a meal, inquires who else will be there, because he thinks the sexes should be equal. I may often invite him with another man. In this case he asks if he can bring another woman. I consider this very rude, especially as I am the host and paying for the meal. What is your view?

Ann Taylor, Bath

Impertinent, yes. None of his business. “Very rude” is going too far. He is a bossy old fuddy-duddy who was taught extreme Victorian dinner etiquette yonks ago. But he is frozen in his carapace of icy manners. Don’t tell him who else is invited to dinner. Be enigmatic about your guest list.

Is it bad etiquette to wear odd socks, as I found that I had the other day?

Stuart Davies, Kingston upon Hull

It depends on your job and your character (and your colleagues). If I can find two reasonably clean socks without major holes, I reckon that I am winning. I dare say that if you are a bank manager or an editor, you should try to get matching socks. Would that we had a modern Jeeves to help us.