Staircase Etiquette

“The woman should go UP the stairs first, but the gentleman should lead the way down the stairs.” 

Dear Ann Landers: My boyfriend and I have been arguing about something for a long time. We've consulted etiquette books and have found nothing to settle the question. Who should go up the stairs first – the man or the woman? And who should go down first? He says the woman should go first, always. Is he right? –Staircase Sadie 

Dear Staircase: He's only half right. The woman should go UP the stairs first, but the gentleman should lead the way down the stairs. A staircase presents the hazard of a fall. Women have a way of falling up the stairs as well as down. If the man is behind her on the way up he ran catch her. If he is ahead of her on the way down, he ran break her fall. – San Bernardino Sun, 1965

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia