2 DECEMBER 2006, Page 95

Q. Going back to your article of 7 October, I

would like to say something about the phenomenon of cutting acquaintances at parties. Being an Irishman, I know that there is a gesture I’ll call the ‘Irish nod’. It’s a very quick catching of someone’s eye and then a quick lowering and raising of the head accompanied by a wink. This translated means, ‘Yes, I know you are there, but I am tied up now . . . I’ll come back to you/call you asap.’ No one would be offended by this gesture, which we all know and use in Ireland.

P.H.D., Budapest A. How kind of you to share this tip with readers. The Irish Nod is a gesture well worth perfecting in the privacy of your own home, then putting into play on the social round.