We'd be much better off if we dropped the title distinction between married and unmarried women. I understand that the French are considering this. Every woman would be called "Madame," regardless of her marital status. "Mademoiselle" for the unmarried would become obsolete.

Both "Miss" and "Mrs." are shortened versions of the title "Mistress," which was once used for everyone. I don't think "Mistress" would work, owing to its more modern sexual connotations, but perhaps every woman should be called "Miss" or "Mrs."

Or just "Ms." That was, after all, the point of "Ms." -- that marital status would be irrelevant, that people wouldn't have to know whether a woman was married or not.

And "Ma'am" works for everyone. It doesn't have anything to do with age.

Don't call me "Mrs" or "Miss". It's "Ms", you moron! Where the hell have you been? And BTW, don't call me "Ma'am" either! My name is not Ma'am, okay???

It is just a sign that they are presumptive stupid is all. Judging without knowing is the very definition of stupid.

Go with ma'am and they get mad cause it sounds old. You can't win.

Ms is the correct term if you don't know if a woman is married.

They don't want to admit they look their age and have not yet started their own family.

don't assume they are married and you're safe

Ma'am is always correct whether they're young or old, single or married.

You should always assume MISS, not Mrs. It's that easy. When I worked in retail, even if a specific lady was 55, grey hair, and had a wedding ring on, I always said MISS or ma'am.

It's best to never assume that any woman is married. Just use Miss or ma'am, problem solved.

Ms and Mrs can also apply to age and not just marital status. Calling a woman "Mrs." could make her feel old. That's why I use ma'am instead. Some women take offense, but they usually have crap personalities anyways.