DEAR MISS MANNERS: I was introduced to a young dandy about my age who had worn his feathered fedora during a church wedding and was now wearing it at the reception.

Presumably I was expected to concur with his being introduced as "the most dapperest man I know" and to immediately compliment his attire.

Do you have a better retort than the one I used: "Gosh, you are so well-dressed. Foolish me, failing to protect my eyes from the blinding rays of that chandelier."

GENTLE READER: "Most dapperest"? A man wearing a hat indoors seems to Miss Manners to be the most rudest. There was no need for you to comment at all. Just a weak smile and innocuous comment about the wedding would have sufficed -- until you were able to make a polite getaway.