WEBVTT - What does RSVP mean?

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<v Speaker 1>stuff works dot com where smart happens. Hi Am Marshall

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<v Speaker 1>Brain with today's question, what does rs VP mean? Rs

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<v Speaker 1>VP stands for a French phrase respond a cbo play,

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<v Speaker 1>which means please reply. The person sending the invitation would

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<v Speaker 1>like you to tell him or her whether you accept

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<v Speaker 1>or decline the invitation, that is, will you be coming

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<v Speaker 1>to the event or not. Etiquette rules followed in most

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<v Speaker 1>Western cultures require that if you receive a formal, written invitation,

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<v Speaker 1>you should reply promptly, perhaps that same day. For hosts

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<v Speaker 1>who are planning a dinner party, a wedding, or a reception,

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<v Speaker 1>this is important from their point of view because they

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<v Speaker 1>need to know how many people to count on and

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<v Speaker 1>how much food to buy. More important, though, is the

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<v Speaker 1>simple courtesy of responding to someone who is nice enough

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<v Speaker 1>to invite you, even if it's to say that you

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<v Speaker 1>regret that you won't be able to attend. Many wedding

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<v Speaker 1>invitations come with a response card that you can mail

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<v Speaker 1>back right away. Other written invitations will carry the host

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<v Speaker 1>telephone number, so you can call with your reply. Although

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<v Speaker 1>under strict etiquette rules are written invitation requires a written reply. Nowadays,

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<v Speaker 1>invitations often carry a regrets only notation at the end.

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<v Speaker 1>That means that the host will count on your being

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<v Speaker 1>there unless you tell him or her otherwise. Some people

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<v Speaker 1>even use r s v P as a verb, as

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<v Speaker 1>in have you rs VP to that invitation? Yet, you

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<v Speaker 1>might wonder why we used the initials of a French

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<v Speaker 1>phrase and an invitation that's written in English. You could

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<v Speaker 1>say that the French invented etiquette, although that would be

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<v Speaker 1>a simplification because there have always been rules to follow

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<v Speaker 1>in civilization. In fact, an Italian diplomat wrote the first

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<v Speaker 1>book about proper Behavior among nobility in the sixteenth century.

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<v Speaker 1>Many of the practices of Western etiquette, however, came from

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<v Speaker 1>the French court of King Louis the fourteenth in the

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<v Speaker 1>late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries at Versailles his palace.

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<v Speaker 1>Louis the fourteenth had rules for court behavior written on

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<v Speaker 1>what French referred to as tickets. Get it tickets etiquette.

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<v Speaker 1>The tickets either were signs posted at Versailles or were

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<v Speaker 1>the invitations issued to court events with the rules of

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<v Speaker 1>behavior printed on the back. Experts give different versions of

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<v Speaker 1>the origin, and French was the language of refinement and

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<v Speaker 1>high society through the nineteenth century in the United States.

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<v Speaker 1>Judith Martin, the author of etiquette books and a syndicated

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<v Speaker 1>newspaper columnists known as Missmanners. Thanks that rs VP came

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<v Speaker 1>about is a polite way of reminding people of something

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<v Speaker 1>that they should already know. If you receive an invitation,

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<v Speaker 1>you should reply for more on this and thousands of

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<v Speaker 1>other topics because it has staff works dot com, Streaming

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<v Speaker 1>TV shows and movies directly to your home is a

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<v Speaker 1>breeze with Netflix. As a Netflix member, you can instantly

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<v Speaker 1>watch TV and movies on your PC, mac, mobile device,

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<v Speaker 1>or right on your television. Get a free thirty day

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<v Speaker 1>trial membership. Go to Netflix dot com, slash brain stuff

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<v Speaker 1>and sign up today.