What are some don'ts for table manners?
Orlo Kovacek
2025-07-16 01:01:57
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: 11
Don't use your fork or spoon like a shovel or stab your food. Don't groom or attend to hygiene at the table. Avoid slouching and don’t place your elbows on the table while eating. Instead of reaching across the table for something, ask for it to be passed to you. Wait to check calls and texts until you are finished with the meal and away from the table. Keep your smartphone off the table and set to silent or vibrate.
Ashley O'Keefe
2025-07-15 23:31:58
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: 9
Don't place anything on the table, briefcases, phones, bags, purses, sunglasses, all should be stored either under the table or elsewhere, but never on the table. Avoid approaching people in conversation. If you see two people who appear to be in a deep conversation, don’t approach them and interrupt, wait until there is a break in the conversation and then join them. Never hold your utensils in a fist. Do not talk with utensils, don’t gesture with them or point with them. When you have finished eating, place your utensils on the plate, never on the table. Avoid ordering items that are messy to eat. Don’t’ start eating until everyone has been served. Don’t order the most expensive thing on the menu. Don’t order alcohol, if the host does order alcohol, you may order some too, but drink in moderation. Don’t talk with food in your mouth, chew with your mouth closed. Don’t blow soup to cool it, stir it instead.
Bart Satterfield
2025-07-15 22:57:50
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: 7
Do not switch knives and forks. The British, in the European style, never switch their knives and forks like Americans might, preferring instead to keep knives on the right and forks on the left. Don’t point or gesticulate at with your cutlery, and quietly your utensil down when not in use. Refrain from scraping your plate or bowl to prevent causing a disturbance at the table. They should never be placed or rested on the table. Never pass dishes to your right; they always go clockwise when being passed down the table. Never lower your head down to eat; maintain a good posture while at the table.
Jacinto Oberbrunner
2025-07-15 22:44:26
Count answers
: 7
Do not place any bags, purses, sunglasses, cell phones, or briefcases on the table. Do not talk with your utensils and never hold a utensil in a fist. Avoid ordering items that are messy or difficult to eat. Do not order the most expensive item from the menu, appetizers, or dessert, unless your host encourages you to do so. Do not use excessive amounts of sweeteners - no more than two packets per meal is the rule of thumb. Do not cut bread with a knife or eat whole. Do not interrupt conversations. Avoid approaching two people engaged in deep conversation. Wait until there is a break so you can introduce yourself.
Bernadine Towne
2025-07-15 21:28:20
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: 12
Do not tilt the chair or hunch forward over the plate. Do not put elbows on the table. Never eat with your mouth open or talk with your mouth full. Try to avoid making noises of any kind while eating, either with implements against the plate or teeth, or with the actual ingestion of the food, such as slurping soup. Avoid washing mouthfuls of food down with noisy gulps of water. Don’t double-dip. Don’t mop up. Gestures such as rubbing the stomach or smacking the lips are inappropriate and look greedy.
Kaitlin Kuhn
2025-07-15 21:01:54
Count answers
: 7
If circumstances absolutely stop you from attending, always let your host/ess know as soon as possible. Never mix, mash, scrape, or move food with your fingers – goodness grief. Please don’t chew or talk with an open mouth or lick your knife, it’s just tacky. Tricky peas can be slightly crushed or use mashed potato to stick them to your fork but never use your fork like a shovel to scoop them up. Using any form of gadget at the table is an absolute no-no and contrary to popular trends, at a formal dinner party, food should never be shared with the entire social-media world. Food stuck between teeth is tricky…do not use toothpicks, fingernails, knives or napkins to dislodge the food at the table. Excuse yourself and take care of it discreetly. Never ever, tuck it into the collar of your shirt or blow your nose on it. In all instances avoid lunging across the table, it’s polite to request that something is passed to you. Finally, at the dinner table, absolutely never ever…. Smoke, rock on your chair, apply your make-up, drink from the finger bowl, be a bore, or pass out from over consumption of wine.
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