Bedew No Man’s Face

When George Washington was a young man in Virginia, he had his eyes set on a life as an English country gentleman.  In Washington: A Life, author Ron Chernow describes one way Washington tried to attain this goal.  He copied 110 social maxims from the book The Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation in an attempt to know proper etiquette.  Here is one of these guidelines I just couldn’t help laugh at:

Bedew no man’s face with your spittle by approaching him too near when you speak.

Well now I know bedew is a word and I will try not to do it to someone’s face!