# Gloves off... let's tackle all aspects of eating etiquette. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 5, 2019, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gloves-off-lets-tackle-all-aspects-of-eating-etiquette/835082 "2019-06-05T16:06:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2019, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gloves-off-lets-tackle-all-aspects-of-eating-etiquette/835082/61 "2019-06-06T17:44:59Z")
Eh, the bibs are silly. But if everyone else puts one on, I put mine on, too. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2019, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gloves-off-lets-tackle-all-aspects-of-eating-etiquette/835082/62 "2019-06-06T18:36:07Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Yeah, they’re de rigueur for eating a bunch of steamed crabs Maryland style, for sure. I grew up in Baltimore and I’ve picked more steamed crabs than I could pretend to count, and never once did I wear any sort of protective garb. Of course, most of the aforementioned crabs were consumed outdoors on newspaper-covered picnic tables. It was understood that you’d get messy, and if you were too fastidious while eating, chances are you’d face mockery or a few rolled eyes. 😃 But we’ll not discuss how many of my shirts have grease stains from dropped foods… ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2019, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gloves-off-lets-tackle-all-aspects-of-eating-etiquette/835082/63 "2019-06-06T18:40:15Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > I grew up in Baltimore and I’ve picked more steamed crabs than I could pretend to count, and never once did I wear any sort of protective garb. Of course, most of the aforementioned crabs were consumed outdoors on newspaper-covered picnic tables. It was understood that you’d get messy, and if you were too fastidious while eating, chances are you’d face mockery or a few rolled eyes. > > 😃 > > But we’ll not discuss how many of my shirts have grease stains from dropped foods… In a restaurant, they’re de rigueur. At home, anything goes. Even eating 'em naked. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2019, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gloves-off-lets-tackle-all-aspects-of-eating-etiquette/835082/64 "2019-06-06T18:44:57Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Side note: I should ask **Qadgop** about one of his diagnoses. I had a dream the other night in which **Qadgop** and I were riding on a bus, and a couple boarded, holding an infant which had turned blue and appeared lifeless. **Qadgop** went over to examine it, proclaimed that it was suffering from a “trapped cough” and sent me out to find a dentistry textbook. :dubious: > > It took a long time and I never found where the bus had gone. Can **Qadgop** explain this syndrome for future reference? 🙂 The kid must have been born in prison, I’ve had a few patients like that. So no wonder his cough was considered trapped. Your search for the dentistry book was just me finding you something to do while I checked for incarcerated hernias. And the bus went to the the central prison transport hub where it and its passengers will lay over for a night or two before continuing on to pick up and drop off prisoners in the rest of the state, of course. We’ve got nearly 30 prisons in my state, and moving inmates around like that requires a bus system with overnight stops planned. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2019, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gloves-off-lets-tackle-all-aspects-of-eating-etiquette/835082/65 "2019-06-06T19:24:10Z")
> [@RobDog](#): > > Chap at Eton used the mustard spoon instead of his boiled egg spoon to eat his boiled egg. We ribbed him mercilessly for several days. Then stabbed him to death in his bed six months later. It was for the best. I was once at a dinner in which the waiter placed a gravy boat on the table, near one diner. Said diner then proceeded to put the gravy boat on his plate, pick up his soup spoon and eat all the gravy. He assumed we’d each get one. The rest of us just sat and watched. We ribbed him mercilessly for YEARS. But at least we didn’t murder him. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2019, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gloves-off-lets-tackle-all-aspects-of-eating-etiquette/835082/66 "2019-06-06T19:53:59Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > I was once at a dinner in which the waiter placed a gravy boat on the table, near one diner. Said diner then proceeded to put the gravy boat on his plate, pick up his soup spoon and eat all the gravy. He assumed we’d each get one. The rest of us just sat and watched. We ribbed him mercilessly for YEARS. But at least we didn’t murder him. In my family, we consider gravy to be a beverage. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2019, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gloves-off-lets-tackle-all-aspects-of-eating-etiquette/835082/67 "2019-06-06T20:41:31Z")
No one’s mentioned burping? Look, we all burp, but there are ways to do it discreetly. And, also the US way of cutting food then swapping hands and stabbing food with a fist-clutched fork. You have no idea how uncouth this is. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2019, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gloves-off-lets-tackle-all-aspects-of-eating-etiquette/835082/68 "2019-06-06T21:39:56Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > And, also the US way of cutting food then swapping hands and stabbing food with a fist-clutched fork. You have no idea how uncouth this is. You have no idea how no one cares. Why would anyone care about that? It’s like elbows on the table. It’s “wrong” because some wanker 300 years ago said it was wrong. There’s no reason switching hands is anymore “uncouth” than not switching. Or is your objection to the “fist-clutched” part, and simply switching is couth? ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2019, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gloves-off-lets-tackle-all-aspects-of-eating-etiquette/835082/69 "2019-06-06T21:46:37Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > In a restaurant, they’re de rigueur. At home, anything goes. Even eating 'em naked. Well, thanks for that mental image… :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2019, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gloves-off-lets-tackle-all-aspects-of-eating-etiquette/835082/70 "2019-06-06T22:10:21Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > You have no idea how no one cares. Why would anyone care about that? It’s like elbows on the table. It’s “wrong” because some wanker 300 years ago said it was wrong. There’s no reason switching hands is anymore “uncouth” than not switching. > > Or is your objection to the “fist-clutched” part, and simply switching is couth? I have my opinions. My opinion of switching hands and stabbing food is uncouth, in my opinion. I’m allowed to have my opinion. My parents would have banished us from the table for such barbaric behaviour. ((Shrug)) ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2019, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gloves-off-lets-tackle-all-aspects-of-eating-etiquette/835082/71 "2019-06-07T07:22:33Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > You have no idea how no one cares. Why would anyone care about that? It’s like elbows on the table. It’s “wrong” because some wanker 300 years ago said it was wrong. There’s no reason switching hands is anymore “uncouth” than not switching. > > Or is your objection to the “fist-clutched” part, and simply switching is couth? This is a thread about table manners. Most table manners have zero logic behind them, but it doesn’t mean they don’t exist. You are free to ignore them, and we are free to look down on you for it. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2019, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gloves-off-lets-tackle-all-aspects-of-eating-etiquette/835082/72 "2019-06-07T07:28:08Z")
> [@Patch](#): > > Based on a Reddit post on JustNoMIL (just no mother-in-law, all about mother-in-law horror stories), I would say eating soup with your fingers. … if that was intended to make me feel better about the Grandmother From Hell picking up her steak and ripping off bites of it, it didn’t work. One of the last times I ate with my mother, she started to do that. I told her “I don’t care whether you have for some reason decided you’re your mother’s almost-100\* rather than your not-yet-80, but if you start eating as if you were a dog I’m buying you a dog plate.” I don’t know whether she does it in private. But if she starts doing it where the rest of us can see her I _am_ buying her that dog plate. - at the time GFH started doing that she was 97 ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2019, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gloves-off-lets-tackle-all-aspects-of-eating-etiquette/835082/73 "2019-06-07T16:58:24Z")
Meh, the lobster bib originated in Rome before the times of Christ: > **[The Origin And Development Of The Lobster Bib](https://www.forbes.com/forbes-life-magazine/2000/0501/039.html)** There was even a holy bib that was believed to be used by Jesus that became a church relic. It later was determined to be a fake. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2019, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gloves-off-lets-tackle-all-aspects-of-eating-etiquette/835082/74 "2019-06-07T17:42:25Z")
I hate the sound of a fork or spoon hitting teeth. ---
**Author:** ![ioioio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ioioio/32/316_2.png) [@ioioio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ioioio)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2019, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gloves-off-lets-tackle-all-aspects-of-eating-etiquette/835082/75 "2019-06-07T22:47:45Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > Meh, the lobster bib originated in Rome before the times of Christ: > > [The Origin And Development Of The Lobster Bib](https://www.forbes.com/forbes-life-magazine/2000/0501/039.html) > > There was even a holy bib that was believed to be used by Jesus that became a church relic. It later was determined to be a fake. Jesus was a Jew. I doubt that he ate a lot of lobster during his lifetime. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2019, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gloves-off-lets-tackle-all-aspects-of-eating-etiquette/835082/76 "2019-06-08T15:29:44Z")
> [@ioioio](#): > > Jesus was a Jew. I doubt that he ate a lot of lobster during his lifetime. You never know. He hung out with prostitutes, tax collectors, and all sorts of lower rungs of life. He also said that there was only one commandment that had to be followed. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2019, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gloves-off-lets-tackle-all-aspects-of-eating-etiquette/835082/77 "2019-06-08T19:43:00Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > This is a thread about table manners. Most table manners have zero logic behind them, but it doesn’t mean they don’t exist. You are free to ignore them, and we are free to look down on you for it. They’re also cultural. Its not bad table manners to wear a bib to a crab restaurant in America. It’s part of the culture here. It might be in the UK, but you haven’t been talking about people wearing bibs in the UK, so your complaint comes across as more than a little provincial. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2019, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gloves-off-lets-tackle-all-aspects-of-eating-etiquette/835082/78 "2019-06-08T19:50:29Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > You have no idea how no one cares. Why would anyone care about that? It’s like elbows on the table. It’s “wrong” because some wanker 300 years ago said it was wrong. There’s no reason switching hands is anymore “uncouth” than not switching. > > Or is your objection to the “fist-clutched” part, and simply switching is couth? Trust me, people notice. My London friend still teases me about flipping the fork, even though I switched to eating European style a few years ago. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gloves-off-lets-tackle-all-aspects-of-eating-etiquette/835082.md?page=3)