He is polite, self-effacing, and silent.
Mr. Allen, a polite, self-contained, unfailingly earnest 23-year-old married Arkansan, is Mr. Boone.
And yet, he came out the other end polite, self-effacing, hard working.
Despite a general sense of polite self-assurance, the ends of his sentences are often punctuated by nervous giggles.
I am a native Minnesotan who grew up in this so-called culture of "polite, self-negating silence".
While female students at my college may have a culture of "polite, self-negating silence" to contend with, we can (and often do) overcome it.
Since he took over in 1997, Sir Howard, by contrast, has been polite, self-effacing and ever the diplomat, with a sharp eye on how his corporate overseers perceive his actions.
Lindsey Kubasch St. Peter, Minn., Oct. 17, 2007 To the Editor: I was upset to learn that there are still places in America where women are plagued by the "culture of polite, self-negating silence in which they were raised".
As a singer and actor with an album, a devoted (albeit modest) following, and a Tony nomination for best performance by a leading actor in a musical, Mr. Maroulis is faultlessly polite, self-effacing and even melancholy.
But in this society, where the sturdy walls of race still divide much of the country, even polite, self-interested gestures across the color line still make for front-page news.
There wasn't anything weird about his behaviour, he was just his normal, polite, shy self.
