Standard appetizers like vitello tonnato and clams sauteed in white wine are respectable, as are main courses like sweet sausages with pepper and onions.
But its initial ratings were respectable as a parade of celebrity guests came on to banter with the host.
The more successful recent movie adaptations of popular musicals — "Chicago," "Dreamgirls," "Hairspray" and "Sweeney Todd" — only fitfully captured the energy and excitement of the stage versions, but they were respectable as movies, and entertaining.
The ricotta cheesecake is respectable, although not as good as the pistachio gelato by its side.
Germany gets as close to nul points as is respectable.
The overall end result was respectable for the government, as it won a sixth term in government with a net loss of only two seats.
Pain's family was respectable enough, as his father held a number of properties directly from the king.
"It can seem like the only way to be respectable is to achieve as much as the founders of YouTube or Google," said Alain de Botton, author of "Status Anxiety" (Random House, 2004).
"For a man who fought all his life against being respectable, this comes as a stunning defeat," Arlo Guthrie said in 1998, when his father was put on a 32-cent stamp.
And some of the newer entrants to the fraud game are those businesses which, until a couple of years ago, were regarded as being respectable.' The TCA listed some of the complaints it has received.
