# Does it bother you when someone eats something the wrong way? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 2, 2005, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-bother-you-when-someone-eats-something-the-wrong-way/333799 "2005-12-02T20:01:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2005, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-bother-you-when-someone-eats-something-the-wrong-way/333799/21 "2005-12-02T23:33:53Z")
> [@The Big Cheese](#): > > To eat a roll the way he wanted would have entailed you to control the tub of butter in front of you as you ate. No one else would have been to get a dab–unless you each had your own tub of butter. I call a penalty on controlling the tub of butter–and I know my dairy. You do like you did, cut it down the middle, slather on some butter, slap them back together so it melts, and pass the tub on to the next person. I think you are supposed to portion out the amount of butter you plan on using onto your butter plate, then pass the butter on, the proceed with buttering the bread one bite at a time. But don’t look at me hold me to that, I apparently have terrible table manners. On the other hand, I generally prefer to eat most bread the way the OP’s corrector wanted. Not sure why, its just how I have always done it. Maybe my parents raised me right after all. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2005, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-bother-you-when-someone-eats-something-the-wrong-way/333799/22 "2005-12-02T23:39:11Z")
> [@The Big Cheese](#): > > No one else would have been to get a dab–unless you each had your own tub of butter. Which, if you’re dining formally, you do. Or you have a few butterballs of your own on your bread plate that you skewered from the communal silver butter dish using the butter pick. But, of course, they were in a RESTAURANT. So everything is more casual. Did brother-in-law also complain that his salad arrived before his main course? ---
**Author:** ![YaWanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/bbce88/32.png) [@YaWanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YaWanna)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2005, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-bother-you-when-someone-eats-something-the-wrong-way/333799/23 "2005-12-02T23:46:10Z")
> [@NAF1138](#): > > I think you are supposed to portion out the amount of butter you plan on using onto your butter plate, then pass the butter on, then proceed with buttering the bread one bite at a time. You are correct; not only that but (oh, I wish people I’ve had to dinner at my house were aware of this) you are supposed to do so using the _butter serving knife_ that is passed with the butter dish - you then transfer the butter to your bread using your _personal butter knife_. \*_You do not_ spread the butter on your bread using the knife that is in the butter dish, and then return said knife to the butter dish for others to share, and thus transfer bread crumbs into the butter. :mad: :mad: :mad: But I’ve _never_ said a word to the cretans who do it wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2005, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-bother-you-when-someone-eats-something-the-wrong-way/333799/24 "2005-12-03T00:03:47Z")
> [@YaWanna](#): > > But I’ve _never_ said a word to the \*\*cretans \*\* who do it wrong. [nitpick]Cretins. I don’t think you have an argument with the citizens of [Crete](http://www.thefreedictionary.com/cretan).[\end nitpick] Sorry, just one of my pet peeves. ---
**Author:** ![YaWanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/bbce88/32.png) [@YaWanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YaWanna)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2005, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-bother-you-when-someone-eats-something-the-wrong-way/333799/25 "2005-12-03T00:18:16Z")
> [@Roderick Femm](#): > > [nitpick]Cretins. I don’t think you have an argument with the citizens of [Crete](http://www.thefreedictionary.com/cretan).[\end nitpick] > > Sorry, just one of my pet peeves. Berry sorry. It shall not happen again. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2005, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-bother-you-when-someone-eats-something-the-wrong-way/333799/26 "2005-12-03T03:00:28Z")
It bothers me, but not enough to say anything to you. I’ll probably just make a mental note to tell my husband about how uncouth you were, but that’s about it. ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2005, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-bother-you-when-someone-eats-something-the-wrong-way/333799/27 "2005-12-03T03:47:24Z")
This past Thanksgiving I sat next to my son in law. He put ketchup on his turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes. I thought about backhanding him for that but his parents were there. ---
**Author:** ![Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carnac_the_Magnificent)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2005, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-bother-you-when-someone-eats-something-the-wrong-way/333799/28 "2005-12-03T06:39:06Z")
> [@racer72](#): > > This past Thanksgiving I sat next to my son in law. He put ketchup on his turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes. I thought about backhanding him for that but his parents were there. Why backhand him when you can smack him with a cast iron frying pan? ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2005, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-bother-you-when-someone-eats-something-the-wrong-way/333799/29 "2005-12-03T11:03:02Z")
> [@Roderick Femm](#): > > I don’t think you have an argument with the citizens of [Crete](http://www.thefreedictionary.com/cretan).[ Lying bastards. ---
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2005, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-bother-you-when-someone-eats-something-the-wrong-way/333799/30 "2005-12-03T12:59:44Z")
The only thing that people do while eating are things like chewing with their mouth open or various other variations at that them. As to how someone eats a particular food, I couldn’t care less. Eating isn’t about rules and rights and wrongs and propriety, it’s about eating, and enjoying the food. If someone’s sushi tastes better to them completely soaked in soy sauce, so be it. As long as they’re enjoying their food, and eating it with their mouths closed. OK, the one thing that might slightly ruffle my feathers is seasoning something I’ve made before tasting it. But that’s only minor irritation. If they taste it first, then pour on a boatload of salt, so be it. Not everyone’s tastes are going to be the same, and some people like having a salt lick on their plates. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2005, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-bother-you-when-someone-eats-something-the-wrong-way/333799/31 "2005-12-03T13:24:39Z")
> [@NinjaChick](#): > > The only proper way to eat a slice of pizza is to pick it up, fold it in half lengthwise, and consume starting at the pointy end. > > I’m astounded at how few people do that. You… ROLL… your pizza?! :eek: ☹ :mad: _reports \NinjaChick\ to the Mods for strange pizza consumption habits!_ 😉 Me, I do something in between what you describe and the “flopping it around” method that \Big Bad Voodoo Lou\ briefly describes. I sort of push the middle of the crust down slightly with my middle finger while supporting the ends of the crust with my thumb and other fingers. Keeps the pizza more or less flat (as the cook intended it to be, or else he would have made calzone! 😉 ) while also minimizing (or at least controlling) the grease flow. As far as the bread buttering ettiquite, depending on where I eat I’ll either just rip the top off the bread roll and slather the resulting pieces with my personal knife, or else I’ll get a dab of butter and tear the bread into itty pieces before buttering. Really it depends on the resteraunt. Usually I tend not to pay much attention to how other people eat, though I do have my little pet peeves pertaining to dinner table ettiquite in general. For example, you don’t cut someone off while they’re in the middle of saying something. If they’re taking too long and you really need to say something, you wait for a punctuation mark of some sort and interject with an “excuse me,” You don’t just catapult yourself into the center of the conversation with whatever random thought that just popped into existence inside your head, and you don’t tell them to shut up unless they don’t yield when you say “excuse me”. Depending on who you’re eating with, where you’re eating, and why you’re eating, there may be intermediary steps between “Excuse me” and “Shut up!” Also, complaining about grease on a pizza? That’s the FLAVOR, YOU UNCULTURED HEATHEN! :mad: If the pizza’s too greasy (I dunno, some folks don’t like to eat at Taco Cabana, the world is full of strange people) you drop your napkin on top of it so it can soak some of it up. ---
**Author:** ![ImaginalDisc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a88e57/32.png) [@ImaginalDisc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ImaginalDisc)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2005, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-bother-you-when-someone-eats-something-the-wrong-way/333799/32 "2005-12-03T13:27:31Z")
Well heck, how you butter your bread isn’t so bad. What always baffles me is the variations in the “proper” ways to use a knife and fork. I was taught to cut food with the fork in my left hand, and the knife in the right, and then to transfer the fork into my right hand, with the “bowl” of the bend of the fork facing down, as I put the food in my mouth. And yet, when I turn on Iron Chef America, I see food critics just hacking away at meat, and then lifting the meat to their mouths with their _left_ hands, and with the fork upside down! I don’t there are too many table ettiqute rules that are hard and fast. ---
**Author:** ![BluePitbull](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9bcb4/32.png) [@BluePitbull](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BluePitbull)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2005, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-bother-you-when-someone-eats-something-the-wrong-way/333799/33 "2005-12-03T13:31:47Z")
People in Trinidad put ketchup and mustard on top of their pizza. Disgusting ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2005, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-bother-you-when-someone-eats-something-the-wrong-way/333799/34 "2005-12-03T13:37:57Z")
> [@ImaginalDisc](#): > > Well heck, how you butter your bread isn’t so bad. What always baffles me is the variations in the “proper” ways to use a knife and fork. I was taught to cut food with the fork in my left hand, and the knife in the right, and then to transfer the fork into my right hand, with the “bowl” of the bend of the fork facing down, as I put the food in my mouth. And yet, when I turn on Iron Chef America, I see food critics just hacking away at meat, and then lifting the meat to their mouths with their _left_ hands, and with the fork upside down! I don’t there are too many table ettiqute rules that are hard and fast. When I eat anything I have to cut, I pin it with the fork in my left hand (since I won’t have to move the fork, it makes sense to put it in the off hand), and cut it with the knife in my right hand. Usually I just lift the fork to my mouth concave side down and put the food in my mouth, but it might depend on what I’m eating. If it’s got stuff on top of it that might fall off, I’ll flip the fork over right side up as I lift the food off the plate. Also, if my dad gets on my case for eating in that fashion while I’m at my parents’ house, I just start flipping the fork right side up as I raise it before eating the bite of food. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2005, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-bother-you-when-someone-eats-something-the-wrong-way/333799/35 "2005-12-03T13:53:01Z")
> [@The Chao Goes Mu](#): > > My one bizarre eating habit involves pizza (which I sometimes eat with knife and fork and sometimes not.) I rip the crust off and eat it, then I tear the cheese off, I eat the dough, then consume the cheese last. I have no idea why I eat pizza like I’m performing an autopsy but I feel cheated if I don’t eat it that way. People look at me like I’m a lunatic. > 😃 My pizza weirdness- It’s less an autopsy than an archaeological dig: I eat off the toppings, eat the cheese, scrape the soft, doughy part of the crust off and then eat what’s left of the crust. See, I eat my pizza layer by layer. I tend not to this to the exteme in public with people who don’t know me that well, but I do eat eat the topping first and then the cheese no matter what. I get the same lunatic expressions aimed my way. **What is it about pizza that demands such an indivualistic appraoch?** Is it the creativity inspired from getting to choose _your favorite_ topping from an array of toppings? Is it the variety of pizza styles themselves (Scillian, deep dish, New York, St. Louis etc etc) that demands the consumer be just as varied in his or her eating style? Is it the sauciness of the sauce that makes up act, well, saucy and flaunt convention? 😕😕 ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2005, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-bother-you-when-someone-eats-something-the-wrong-way/333799/36 "2005-12-03T14:30:23Z")
> [@ImaginalDisc](#): > > What always baffles me is the variations in the “proper” ways to use a knife and fork. I was taught to cut food with the fork in my left hand, and the knife in the right, and then to transfer the fork into my right hand, with the “bowl” of the bend of the fork facing down, as I put the food in my mouth. And yet, when I turn on Iron Chef America, I see food critics just hacking away at meat, and then lifting the meat to their mouths with their _left_ hands, and with the fork upside down! I don’t there are too many table ettiqute rules that are hard and fast. The way you describe is the proper American way to eat, though I’m trying to recall if which way the fork faces is correct. (I’m too lazy to go grab one of my etiquette books and confirm.) I know Europe has a different method, plus those food critics might just be using improper etiquette. The only thing that drives me up the freaking wall is talking with your mouth full. It’s one thing to just have a bit of food that you can’t quite clear out (a morsel of dry bread) and to answer something quickly, then take a drink to help empty your mouth. It’s another to have someone who intentionally eats and talks at the same time, completely uncaring about other people’s feelings or appetites. As someone who loves cooking and takes pride in what I make, I do find it just slightly insulting (though I understand it’s not intended as such) when people season their food before they even taste it, especially if tons of seasoning is dumped on. Season after you taste; dumping it on first gives the impression (even if unintentional) that what you made can’t possibly taste good. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2005, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-bother-you-when-someone-eats-something-the-wrong-way/333799/37 "2005-12-03T14:47:02Z")
> [@Batsinma Belfry](#): > > “Wrong” being a way you don’t think it should be eaten. > Shortly after my sister married her incredibly pretencious, ex-farmboy husband. They took me out to eat. I picked up a roll and started preparing it for consumption. It was one of those muffin shaped rolls. My plan was to slice it down the middle with my knife then apply butter to each piece, then eat. > As soon as the knife touched the roll, he acted like I had wiped my butt with the tablecloth. “What is your sister doing to that roll?” “Make her stop.” Then my sister instructed me on the “proper” way to eat the roll, which was to tear a small piece off, then apply the butter to that piece only, then eat. And repeat until all gone. > > When I first started dating my husband, it irritated me that he would eat pizza with a fork. But only in public. He prefered not to eat it that way, but thought he should. > But my irritation was mostly about the fact that he thought he should eat it differently in public, and by “public” I mean Pizza Hut. Military guys who attend West Point or wherever are taught very specific ways to eat (from what I read), i.e., the tearing of the bits of bread, cutting no more than two or three bites of steak at a time, etc. So they’re all Miss Manners when they attend shindigs with the big shots. I once prepared a faaaabulous gourmet meal for a guy I was seeing. He proceeded to put catsup on it. I could have strangled him. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2005, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-bother-you-when-someone-eats-something-the-wrong-way/333799/38 "2005-12-03T15:35:25Z")
> [@](#): > > The only proper way to eat a slice of pizza is to pick it up, fold it in half lengthwise, and consume starting at the pointy end. > > I’m astounded at how few people do that. This is covered by the ‘conversion to a sandwich’ provision of eating rules, added by the Earl of Sandwich. Fully legal, but also optional. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2005, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-bother-you-when-someone-eats-something-the-wrong-way/333799/39 "2005-12-03T17:13:53Z")
> [@Pochacco](#): > > Did brother-in-law also complain that his salad arrived before his main course? When is the salad supposed to arrive? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2005, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-bother-you-when-someone-eats-something-the-wrong-way/333799/40 "2005-12-03T17:20:57Z")
Out of curiosity: why all the hate for ketchup? What’s wrong with it? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-bother-you-when-someone-eats-something-the-wrong-way/333799.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-bother-you-when-someone-eats-something-the-wrong-way/333799.md?page=3)