In her book Watching the English: The Hidden Rules of English Behaviour, social anthropologist Kate Fox deliberately bumped into people on the London tube in order to observe their reactions. And almost invariably, they apologised!
The English use Please, Thank you and Sorry more than most nationalities and in all sorts of situations. For example, if you wish to make a complaint, you should start with ‘Sorry’ as in: ‘I’m sorry, but this soup is cold’.
This strange and seemingly misplaced politeness is an excellent example of the quirks of Britishness – a culture governed by a complex set of unspoken rules and codes of behaviour, both of which may seem particularly bizarre to non-British people.
The British are so famous for their politeness that the stereotype of the British gentleman is known everywhere and most languages use the English word to refer to this way of being and behaving. James Bond is an example of how even spies in Britain are polite gentlemen!
English in Use
(as) polite as pie: specially agreeable, considerate, and courteous.
Example: “Actually, Laurie can’t stand him, but she’s always as polite as pie to his face.”
a polite fiction: a general falsehood that is accepted in place of the truth to maintain politeness, civility, or stability among a given social group.
Example: “Yeah, my mom and grandmother get along now, but the idea that they’ve had a pleasant relationship all this time is a polite fiction.”