DEAR MISS MANNERS: My brother and I bought a home together some years ago (I’ve never married, and he is divorced). Christmas cards, invitations and whatnot meant for both of us often come addressed to “John and Jim Doe.”

This seems to indicate that we are a couple. Wouldn’t it be more appropriate to address the envelope with “John Doe and Jim Doe”?

I’m not a prude, and we both get a chuckle out of the apparent faux pas, but am I right about how a letter should be addressed?

GENTLE READER: Far be it from Miss Manners to discourage a chuckle, but pairing the names of siblings at the same address, without the least thought of there being any other relationship, is traditional. Only it would have been, properly, “The Messrs. John and Jim Doe.”

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