Why aren’t you married yet?

Seriously, does anyone's family really ask this? I'd want out of that circle of uncouth persons... . I am lucky enough not to have verbal pressure from my family to marry, but the fact that they all were coupled off well before they were 30 is pressure of its own. Not many divorces in my family, either. An aunt & an uncle, plus one of my grandfather's sisters is all. Is that weird in a nation where there's a 50% chance of my marriage ending in divorce?

‘Why aren’t you married yet?’ By Kimberly Dawn Neumann Whether you’re single and loving it or desperately seeking Mr./Ms. Right, being hounded about your relationship status is annoying. And yet it seems to be a perfectly acceptable topic of conversation at festive family functions this time of year. In preparation for holiday party season, we asked everyone from social experts to comedians for the best answers to the “Why are you still single?” question.

1. Save your ego by boosting your questioner’s (basically, change the subject to them. people love this tactic as it allows them to talk about their favorite topic)
2. Make your point with an extreme example (one man's extreme example is another woman's truth)
3. Bait-and-switch your response (another way to change the subject. this one sounds like it uses gossip)
4. Make them wish they hadn’t asked (or, be mean. serrabee doesn't encourage direct rudeness---remember, cattiness is much more effective)
5. Inspire jealousy because you’re still single (again, the truth---for almost all of us)
6. Shrug it off with a snappy comeback (if you have to premeditate a snappy comeback it probably doesn't qualify as such)
7. Drop some science on the situation (my favorite approach!)
8. Smile and move on with savvy (classy, though not the way they make it sound

So, remember kids: This holiday season when people shove their enquiring noses where they just don't belong, don't get your feelings hurt. Remember that people who ask this question don't really want to hear the truth, your opinion, or anything else. They just want to be a$$holes!