If someone or something goes viral, what is the antidote?
Obliviousness, or out of sight, out of mind.
Richard Orlando, Westmount, Quebec, Canada
• Switch off.
Philip Stigger, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
• Quarantine. As for a viral epidemic you have to isolate those who’ve got it and stop them passing it on.
Pat Phillips, Adelaide, South Australia
• A power cut.
David Isaacs, Sydney, Australia
• A virulent denunciation of the person or thing.
Joan Dawson, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
• Cold sore cream.
Dave Robinson, Newstead, Tasmania, Australia
• A hot toddy and a day in bed.
Stuart Williams, Kampala, Uganda
Just how hungry are you?
A dinner party is set to start at “six-ish”. How big is an “ish”?
It depends on whether you are hosting or attending the party. Greater leeway should always be given if it is the former. (It also depends on where the party is being held and what the cultural norms are, but that is a more complicated answer.)
Avril Taylor, Dundas, Ontario, Canada
• A “late-ish” can be 10 minutes or a little more. On the other hand, an “early-ish” better not be more than 10 seconds, in case the host is already running behind time.
Lawrie Bradly, Surrey Hills, Victoria, Australia
• A New York minute.
Martin Frank, New York City, US
• Dinner will be ready sometime in the evening.
Margaret Wyeth, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
• In Tanzania, it could be up to three hours; in Switzerland, up to three minutes.
David Ross, Thoiry, France
• An “ish” should not be more than half an hour beyond the due time – and preferably within a quarter hour. Arriving significantly ahead of time is equally a no-no.
And a guest turning up two hours late for a lunch will be directed to the nearest takeaway outlet.
Ursula Nixon, Bodalla, NSW, Australia
• Depends on whether you’re famished, peckish or well nourished.
David Tucker, Halle, Germany
• In my experience, in Portugal a couple of hours, in the UK one, in the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark one minute and in Switzerland one second.
Nicholas Houghton, Folkestone, UK
• I don’t know about Canada but in Nicaragua if you want your party to start at six sharp you specify hora británica. If punctuality is immaterial, hora nica will do.
Nicholas Albrecht, Paris, France
• The answer is – quite obviously at 6.30 precisely!
Derek Harris, Sidmouth, UK
• Biggish.
Tijne Schols, The Hague, The Netherlands
It’s just overpriced, really
What, apart from champagne, is overrated?
Twitter, Facebook, Skype et al and I’m not convinced that champagne is overrated.
Peter Moors, Ginoles, France
• It’s not so much that champagne is overrated, as that it’s overpriced.
Tim Ruggles, Round Hill, Nova Scotia, Canada
• Ratings.
Tina Usmiani, Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia, Canada
Any answers?
What’s the best thing about growing old?
Donna Samoyloff, Toronto, Canada
Facebook aside, how many friends do you have?
Terence Rowell, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada
Send answers to weekly.nandq@theguardian.com or Guardian Weekly, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU, UK
