The phrase 'Basic politeness' is correct and usable in written English.
You could use it to describe a situation in which people are behaving in kind and respectful ways. For example, "The students in the classroom showed basic politeness to one another."
But generally I stick it out; seems like basic politeness.
One could argue that even "Curb Your Enthusiasm" has a moral core: it's a lampoon about an ultra-privileged white Westerner who desperately wants to be seen as a good person but whose attempts at the most basic politeness explode because of his intractable selfishness, his inability to acknowledge that other people exist.
On the one hand, since we discussed the transgender issue quite extensively back in the day, I feel that basic politeness and, of course, an interest in catching up would suggest that I inquire about whether the person has fully changed gender.
Her basic politeness and her gentle manner with the few children in the crowd make us wonder initially if this might be a piece of guerrilla theater, but the notion dissipates when she pulls out another rifle, presumably planted in the house days earlier, and points it at the head of a stubborn gastroenterologist reluctant to surrender his iPhone.
You should let him go first because it's basic politeness.
To say anything unflattering about him is to violate our narrowing political culture's basic codes of politeness.
This matters because it affects the basic rules of politeness within New York to a degree that you might not expect.
"There are simple things like being indirect, being sort of muted in your requests, complementing before you ask for something and using the very basic language of politeness" that can lead to more agreement, Keltner said.
It is rare to see comments such as: do meet with the local imam once a week, do learn basic greetings and politenesses in the local language and do ask people what they need.
You're too full to move, and too drunk to try, and this is the time of day where all the carefully observed politeness about basic acceptance flies straight out of the window.
