Some silences are companionable; others, less so.
Do you ever signal the fact of your being offended by lifting your nose towards the heavens, pursing your lips, and adopting the mock saintly expression of one cruelly mistreated, misunderstood (or both)? My sweetheart and I do. At first we used to ignore this haughty little signal, with predictable consequences, but a few years ago, we worked out a plan.
Firstly, we gave the attitude a name – air sneck (‘sneck’ is a Northern English dialect word for ‘nose’ and ‘air’ is short for ‘in the air’).
Secondly, we recognised that lifting the nose is a plea for acknowledgement and an invitation for the offending party to make swift amends by taking it back or consoling.
Finally, we agreed how to manage miffedness. As soon as one of us spots that the other’s nose is lifted, (an incidence of ‘air sneck’), that person is duty bound to take their index finger and gently lower the other’s nose to its normal angle. The sneck lifter is duty bound to allow his or her nose to be lowered, and thus to be soothed.
The raising of the sneck can be so slight as to be almost imperceptible other than to an observant student of human nature. The lowering of the sneck indicates the issue is resolved. This little ritual can take place in perfect silence, although icebreaking chuckles often spontaneously arise.
It works for us. You’ll need to establish your own guidelines if you want to give it a try. Ours permit a ludicrous, higher-than-normal sneck lifting if required to catch the other’s attention. And the whole concept depends on the likelihood that (1) the miffed party has no major grievance and (2) that both parties are happier being happy than being unhappy.
I think that pretty much covers it. Now the only question is: how on earth are we going to get Piglet’s sneck down?
Susan Rushton 
Wonderful
Glad you approve!
Thank you! Not only have I learned “sneck,” but I have also learned a brilliant way of communicating. I must confess I laughed out loud when I read about the extreme air sneck, in the instance of the other’s not noticing the common air sneck, but mostly I was totally intrigued by this take on silence. A very good start to my day!
I like your terms ‘extreme’ and ‘common’ – quite!
Delightful! A humorous and not unreasonable way to communicate and resolve everyday troubles. (And I learned a new word, to boot!) Bravo!
I’m glad you like the idea.
I absolutely love this. Brilliant!
It really does work – for us, at least.
Delightful, Susan! Very imaginative too.
I’m not sure how we came up with it – who was the first to lower the nose. I think we’ll claim it as a team effort.
A team effort it was.
Terrific post!
Thanks, Belinda.
Yes, delightful!
Thanks, Laurie.
Crikey! You take conflict resolution to a whole new level. Excellent!
I’ll have to explain about our readiness sticks one day…
My mother was from Yorkshire and I never heard of “sneck,” so I have also learned something.
You can buy beer called ‘Sneck Lifter’ in England. I’m not sure how far it has travelled around the world, but if you see it, you’ll know what it means.
Adorable! ❤
At first, I thought Piglet was carrying the flowers. Then, I noticed the container was behind his little platform. Interesting illusion!
I spotted him at one of our flower shows a few years ago.