Subject: the real faux pas joke
Newsgroups: aus.jokes
Message-ID: <01bc6d77$c0d74340$89f6868b@j---t-erbacher>
Date: 31 May 97 04:59:37 GMT

Young Jeeves had just finished his course on being a gentleman's gentleman
when his instructor asked him whether there was anything that he didn't
understand or any questions he had to ask.

Well there is one thing that I don't quite understand. A lot has been said
about faux pas and savoir-faire and I don't quite know what the difference
is.

The easiest way to explain is to relate a story, replied the instructor.
As you will probably know Winston Churchill and Lady Aster both had a
passion for roses.  One afternoon they were in the garden picking roses
when Winston pricked his finger on a rose thorn.  It bled quite a bit and
they then went back to the house and bandaged it up.  Later that evening
you are serving dinner, Lady Aster asks Winston, how's your prick? and
you carry on serving as if nothing has happened, well that is savoir-faire.
But when Winston replies It's still throbbing but it has gone down a bit
and you drop a bowl of soup in Lady Aster's lap, that is what we call a
faux pas.