Clichés

Honesty is the best policy. But some things are better left unsaid. So when in doubt, discretion is the better part of valor.

When it comes to a person’s romantic track record, it is good to know his past when assessing his present, but one must allow for the possibility of change in order for a coupling to have a future. This is a little trickier when it concerns friends, especially those with not-so-sterling reputations. You know them enough such that you can tell if your friend has indeed changed or is still up to his old tricks.

If anyone will do a demolition job of one’s romantic reputation, I prefer that it be the person himself and not some other. Warning a friend’s potential partner is more acceptable if it’s tempered by conditional phrases like, “But that is his track record. Whether you’ll be part of the statistics or break the mold, I can’t tell.” Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.

And when worse come to worst, just drop the line: Oops, he did it again. Waaaaaaah!