Etiquette experts quoted by Reader’s Digest agree on how to cancel plans. Do it “as soon as possible,” because “the longer you wait to let the other person know, the more rude it becomes.” Then “make a plan to reschedule,” with “a sincere, detailed offer.”
There is a limit: “if you constantly cancel plans, you either need to rethink that relationship or your priorities.”
The American Medical Association’s Code of Medical Ethics addresses fees for “missed appointments or appointments not cancelled in advance in keeping with the published policy of the practice.” Physicians should base such fees on reasonable costs and “clearly notify patients in advance.”
The fee covers appointments missed or not canceled in advance.
In New York State, a person called for jury duty can postpone service once, online or by phone, at least one week before the date of service. The person chooses a new date between two and six months from the date on the summons.
On Sunday, August 30, 2020, United Airlines said that it was “permanently getting rid of change fees” on standard economy and premium tickets for travel within the United States. The fee had been $200. Its chief executive, Scott Kirby, said that getting rid of it was “often the top request” from customers. Delta and American Airlines did the same the next day. Delta excluded its Basic Economy tickets.
A rain check was first a ticket. If a baseball game was rained out, it was good for a later game. Around 1889 teams began to use a stub on the original ticket instead. The term was in use by 1877. Today it means a promise to accept an offer at a later time: “Can I take a rain check?”
Baseball still works this way. A rained-out game is played on another date, sometimes as one game of a doubleheader. The Detroit Tigers tell their fans: “If a game is postponed due to a rainout, PLEASE HOLD ON TO YOUR TICKET!”
Can we push this to next week? — Can we move the meeting to a later date?
Something came up. — A more pressing matter needs my time. No details are expected.
I need to bump our call. — I have to move our call.
Does Thursday work instead? — The new date is offered together with the cancellation.
Sorry for the late notice. — The apology is for the short notice, not for the change.
No worries! — The usual answer. No offense was taken.
A bucket list is a list of things to do before one dies. The phrase was popularized by the 2007 film The Bucket List, with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. Americans now cross items off their bucket lists. The screenwriter, Justin Zackham, says he coined the expression. The earliest known printed use, from June 2006, was already about his film.
On May 1, 2003, President George W. Bush spoke on the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln under a banner that read “Mission Accomplished.” He said: “Major combat operations in Iraq have ended.”
The war went on for years. By the fifth anniversary of the speech, at least 4,061 American service members had died. In January 2009 Bush said: “Clearly, putting ‘Mission Accomplished’ on an aircraft carrier was a mistake.”
Just before Barack Obama took office in 2009, the fact-checking site PolitiFact launched the Obameter to track his more than 500 campaign promises. Each promise was rated as kept, broken, compromise, in the works, or stalled. A year later, PolitiFact counted 91 promises kept, 33 compromises, 87 stalled and 14 broken.
ABD, for “all but dissertation,” describes a doctoral student who has finished everything except the dissertation. The term is used mostly in the United States, and it is informal. Writing “Ph.D. (ABD)” after one’s name can be seen as misleading. Some universities give such students a separate degree, such as a Master of Philosophy.