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" If only life came with a how-to guide\u2014something to rely on in those uncomfortable social situations that catch us off guard and unprepared. Luckily, we&amp;#039;ve got gracious solutions for some common holiday dilemmas\u2014and a few everyday ones, too.   1. You forget someone&amp;#039;s name. You&amp;#039;re at a relative&amp;#039;s annual party when you see a woman coming toward you, smiling. You know you&amp;#039;ve met her. What&amp;#039;s her name? Your best bet: &amp;#039;Fess up. &amp;quot;You can say, &amp;#039;I&amp;#039;m sorry. I know we met at Linda&amp;#039;s house, but I&amp;#039;ve forgotten your name,&amp;quot; says Gloria Starr, an international etiquette consultant and founder of the Modern Day Finishing School for Adults. &amp;quot;Most people are understanding, since this sort of thing happens to everyone at some point.&amp;quot; And if you recall a specific detail about the day you met her, mention it: &amp;quot;You wore that great red dress!&amp;quot; &amp;quot;This helps her feel memorable, and makes up a little for the fact that you forgot her name,&amp;quot; explains Starr.   2. The food at your friend&amp;#039;s holiday feast is terrible. One bite and you know you can&amp;#039;t possibly eat any more. What to do? Steal a move from your childhood: &amp;quot;Cut off a small piece of food, shift it around your plate, and fake eating it,&amp;quot; says Jon D. Williams, president of JDW Social Education Programs, a Denver-based company that teaches adults, children and businesses social etiquette skills. &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s better to be a gracious guest than to hurt your host&amp;#039;s feelings.&amp;quot; You can always make yourself a sandwich when you get home, he adds.   If your friend asks how you like the meal, don&amp;#039;t complain. Simply praise the food&amp;#039;s uniqueness or delicious smell, advises Williams. And if anyone catches you pushing the peas aside and hiding pieces of steak under the mashed potatoes, say, &amp;quot;I&amp;#039;m sorry. I had an upset stomach earlier,&amp;quot; or &amp;quot;I had a late lunch.&amp;quot;   The exception to the fake-it rule: When the meal includes ethnic dishes that represent your host&amp;#039;s culture, eat at least a little bit of it. &amp;quot;To do otherwise is insulting,&amp;quot; points out Williams.   Yikes! Someone has bad breath. Talking to a person with halitosis can be a real test of diplomacy. Do you ignore your misery or speak up? &amp;quot;If it&amp;#039;s a close friend, I&amp;#039;d absolutely tell her,&amp;quot; says Jodi R.R. Smith, author of The Etiquette Book: A Complete Guide to Modern Manners. If you&amp;#039;re afraid you&amp;#039;ll hurt her feelings, take a soft approach: &amp;quot;Pull her aside and say, &amp;#039;Did you have one of those garlicky appetizers?&amp;#039; Then offer her a mint. If she turns it down, say: &amp;#039;No, I really think you should take this.&amp;#039;&amp;quot;   It&amp;#039;s the best approach, says Smith. &amp;quot;A small embarrassment now trumps a bigger one later. She needs to know, and as her pal, you should tell her.&amp;quot;   If the offender is an acquaintance or someone you&amp;#039;ve just met, make it more about you. &amp;quot;Say, &amp;#039;I could really use some gum. Want a piece?&amp;#039; That may be enough to get your point across,&amp;quot; says Smith. &amp;quot;If she doesn&amp;#039;t take the hint, let it go.&amp;quot;   3. You made a public gaffe. Beverly Langford, PhD, professor of business communication at Georgia State University and author of The Etiquette Edge, once wore a live microphone into the restroom before teaching an auditorium full of students. &amp;quot;All I could do was laugh and say, &amp;#039;I didn&amp;#039;t intend to let you into my world so intimately!&amp;#039;&amp;quot; recalls Dr. Langford. &amp;quot;I really wanted to run and hide, but if I&amp;#039;d spent the whole class dwelling on it, it would have been worse.&amp;quot;   So the next time you trip over your words or stumble while walking, acknowledge the blunder with humor, then move on. Try a self-deprecating quip, recommends Smith, such as &amp;quot;That&amp;#039;s why they named me Grace!&amp;quot; You will defuse an awkward situation and put everyone at ease.   4. You&amp;#039;re trapped in a boring, never-ending conversation. If the neighborhood Chatty Cathy corners you at the market, make a graceful escape by not engaging. &amp;quot;Respond to everything she says with an Mm-hmm, and don&amp;#039;t ask questions,&amp;quot; advises Anna Post, spokeswoman for The Emily Post Institute. &amp;quot;After a few minutes, when she pauses, you can say, &amp;#039;I&amp;#039;m sorry to cut you short, but I have to run.&amp;#039; Or smile and say, &amp;#039;It&amp;#039;s been nice chatting.&amp;#039;&amp;quot; The key is to keep it short and sweet. You don&amp;#039;t want to give her anything to cling to as you leave. &amp;quot;If you start getting into details about why you have to go, it makes things more awkward,&amp;quot; says Post.   If you&amp;#039;re trapped next to a bore on a bus, train or plane, give a little &amp;#039;nice-talking-to-you&amp;#039; nod, then open a magazine, look out the window or put on your iPod. &amp;quot;These are all gentle, yet effective, signals that it&amp;#039;s time to wrap up,&amp;quot; says Post.   5. You lied to get out of an event\u2014and now you&amp;#039;re busted. A friend asked you to a concert, but your sister&amp;#039;s invite to dinner sounded more fun. So you played the sick card. No big deal, right? Except when a mutual pal sees you at the restaurant and innocently mentions it to your friend. Making excuses can backfire big-time if you get caught in the lie. &amp;quot;Any explanation at this point isn&amp;#039;t going to go over well,&amp;quot; says Post. &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s more gracious to admit that you made the wrong decision, and ask for forgiveness.&amp;quot;   And in the future, be upfront. &amp;quot;You don&amp;#039;t need to give a detailed reason,&amp;quot; says Smith. Simply say, &amp;quot;Today&amp;#039;s not good for me,&amp;quot; &amp;quot;I&amp;#039;m sorry, but I&amp;#039;m just not up for it,&amp;quot; or &amp;quot;I have too much going on right now.&amp;quot;   6. Your friend shows up wearing something totally unflattering and asks, &amp;quot;How do I look?&amp;quot; Do what the etiquette pros do: Express praise and concern. Highlight the outfit&amp;#039;s better qualities, then zone in on your real point. If her skirt is as short as the ones her teenager wears, try saying, &amp;quot;&amp;#039;The print is nice, but you really look good in that knee-length dress you wore last week,&amp;#039;&amp;quot; suggests Starr. Or if she&amp;#039;s wearing a garish color, tell her, &amp;quot;The cut is cute, but you look so pretty when you wear that blue blouse.&amp;quot;   If the subtle approach doesn&amp;#039;t do the trick, be blunt\u2014but nice: &amp;quot;In my opinion, this outfit doesn&amp;#039;t do you justice because\u2026&amp;quot; and gently explain what you don&amp;#039;t like, pointing out her best assets (her small waist, great legs, etc.) and what styles would set them off best. &amp;quot;Everyone wants approval, especially when it comes to appearance,&amp;quot; says Starr. &amp;quot;Your objective is to steer your friend to a more flattering look without making her feel bad.&amp;quot;   Melinda Dodd is a freelance writer living in Brooklyn, New York. 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