# No Mucous in the Restaurant **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 13, 2007, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mucous-in-the-restaurant/407929 "2007-06-13T23:35:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![cerberus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@cerberus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cerberus)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2007, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mucous-in-the-restaurant/407929/1 "2007-06-13T23:35:27Z")
Yo, **Fuckwit** , you with the attractive date. Listen up: repeatedly _blowing your nose in a restaurant_ accomplishes two things: 1. mortifies your civilised date; 2. irritates everyone else within hearing range. Next time, take that mucous-packed head of yours either outside or to the WC (after, of course, you’ve retrieved your haed from inside uour arse), and blow it out there. Bleaugh! ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2007, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mucous-in-the-restaurant/407929/2 "2007-06-13T23:49:31Z")
Yeah! Some of us are sensitive to mucousy things, and will lose our appetites from hearing snot while trying to eat. Blech. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2007, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mucous-in-the-restaurant/407929/3 "2007-06-13T23:53:22Z")
This brings up an important point. Based on my many years of medical training, I offer the opinion that _mucous_ is an adjective, [to wit](http://www.yourdictionary.com/ahd/m/m0463200.html): adj. 1. Containing, producing, or secreting mucus: a mucous tissue. 2. Relating to, consisting of, or resembling mucus: a mucous substance On the other hand, _mucus_ is a noun, and is the word you desire when describing the slippery, viscous substance which, when expelled forcibly through the nasal passages, produces disgust on the part of restaurant patrons. I welcome any and all debate on this subject, for to confuse a noun with an adjective - well, s’not right. Glad I could clear this up. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2007, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mucous-in-the-restaurant/407929/4 "2007-06-14T04:04:38Z")
I don’t get it. He had a medical condition and one that is fairly common, and really not that gross. Maybe you need to get out more- or less. ---
**Author:** ![Auntbeast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Auntbeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Auntbeast)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2007, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mucous-in-the-restaurant/407929/5 "2007-06-14T04:33:13Z")
We have a patron that does full body snorgles about every five minutes. Sorry, when it sounds like you are trying to snort your entire body through your left nostril, it leaves a bit to be desired. Especially while eating. Hell, I’ve had people purposely lose tournaments so they don’t have to sit next to the guys incessant noises, itches, twitches, rituals and outbursts. But really, the snorgling is the worst. Well, besides him honking it onto the floor. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2007, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mucous-in-the-restaurant/407929/6 "2007-06-14T05:36:40Z")
**Jackmannii** , That was quite a build-up for that pun. ---
**Author:** ![cerberus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@cerberus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cerberus)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2007, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mucous-in-the-restaurant/407929/7 "2007-06-14T13:58:48Z")
Mucous, mucus, point taken. Shoulda said snot. You don’t get it? It’s just a medical condition? I don’t want to listen to the guy blowing his fucking nose in a restaurant. I wouldn’t like a guy with continuous flatulence “sharing” his methane-y emissions in a restaurant either - and flatulence is a medical condition. I did not object to his “condition”. I object to his mucus purging in the dining area of a restaurant. ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2007, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mucous-in-the-restaurant/407929/8 "2007-06-14T14:07:33Z")
[QUOTE=DrDeth] I don’t get it. He had a medical condition and one that is fairly common, and really not that gross. Maybe you need to get out more- or less. [/QUOTE] I don’t think the urge to blow your nose constitutes a medical condition, any more than the urge to fart does. And gross is in the eye of the beholder (or, in this case, in the ear of the hearer). Where and when you blow your nose is under your control, and that wet mucous-y sound of a nose being honked is for some of us deeply unappetizing. It’s just another situation where a little common sense and consideration is called for. If you need to silently wipe your nose or noiselessly blow it a little, I personally will give that a pass even at the table. But if you are clearing your sinuses by giving your nose a thorough snort – complete with waggling your nose back and forth, repeated snorts, or (god forbid, but I have seen it) checking out the contents of your tissue or hanky after – for pity’s sake excuse yourself to the bathroom or outside. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2007, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mucous-in-the-restaurant/407929/9 "2007-06-14T14:12:30Z")
[QUOTE=Auntbeast] We have a patron that does full body snorgles about every five minutes. Sorry, when it sounds like you are trying to snort your entire body through your left nostril, it leaves a bit to be desired. Especially while eating. Hell, I’ve had people purposely lose tournaments so they don’t have to sit next to the guys incessant noises, itches, twitches, rituals and outbursts. But really, the snorgling is the worst. Well, besides him honking it onto the floor. [/QUOTE] Sounds like a pretty good strategy to me! _Hork!_ I’m all in! _Slurp!_ ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2007, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mucous-in-the-restaurant/407929/10 "2007-06-14T15:47:08Z")
[QUOTE=DrDeth] I don’t get it. He had a medical condition and one that is fairly common, and really not that gross. Maybe you need to get out more- or less. [/QUOTE] Ah, super, so you won’t mind if I swap out the ol’ colostomy bag here at the table… getting really full here… WHOOPS! _Damn_ these things, always breaking! I’m really sorry about your Waldorf salad, there. Did it get the whole thing or can you salvage that side of the plate? Tell you what, I’ll spring for dessert… you haven’t _lived_ until you’ve had the hot fudge soufflé here. Oh really? What, are you dieting? ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2007, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mucous-in-the-restaurant/407929/11 "2007-06-14T18:40:33Z")
[QUOTE=Vinyl Turnip] Ah, super, so you won’t mind if I swap out the ol’ colostomy bag here at the table… getting really full here… WHOOPS! _Damn_ these things, always breaking! [/QUOTE] _walks by with platter of food, slips on floor with a mighty crash_ ---
**Author:** ![overlyverbose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9dc877/32.png) [@overlyverbose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overlyverbose)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2007, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mucous-in-the-restaurant/407929/12 "2007-06-14T18:45:41Z")
Yeck. I despise it when people do full-body snorgles (great term, by the way) at the table. Discreetly wiping your nose or blowing it quietly I’m fine with. But an ultra-productive honk should be reserved for some place where you’re not too near food and are fairly close to a sink where you can wash your hands in case your tissue breaks. ---
**Author:** ![coffeecat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coffeecat/32/3405_2.png) [@coffeecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coffeecat)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2007, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mucous-in-the-restaurant/407929/13 "2007-06-14T18:47:51Z")
[QUOTE=Auntbeast] Sorry, when it sounds like you are trying to snort your entire body through your left nostril, it leaves a bit to be desired. [/QUOTE] He should vanish altogether into another dimension in a second. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2007, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mucous-in-the-restaurant/407929/14 "2007-06-14T19:18:31Z")
[QUOTE=Jackmannii] I welcome any and all debate on this subject, for to confuse a noun with an adjective - well, s’not right. Glad I could clear this up. [/QUOTE] oh, booger off! 😛 I would have to come down on the side that nose-blowing, while slightly oogy, would be nothing like the change of a colostomy bag. Call me crazy, but there it is. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2007, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mucous-in-the-restaurant/407929/15 "2007-06-14T20:30:46Z")
[QUOTE=overlyverbose] Yeck. I despise it when people do full-body snorgles (great term, by the way) at the table. Discreetly wiping your nose or blowing it quietly I’m fine with. But an ultra-productive honk should be reserved for some place where you’re not too near food and are fairly close to a sink where you can wash your hands in case your tissue breaks. [/QUOTE] I may have driven a guy from a job once. I was working as a dishwasher, and he was in the food-prep area, but around every 5 minutes he did a full-body snorgle, _walked over to my area_, and hocked one into my trash container. He had probably been told to do that, looking back on it, rather than to use the ones in the food container area, but hot damn was that disgusting. So I started covering my trash bucket, then when that didnt work, I covered it and placed heavy about-to-be-washed stuff on it (one of the few times I am so blatantly passive-aggressive,) and he persisted in moving the stuff off to spit in my trash, for the rest of the night, then didn’t come back. But if you really _need_ to spit every 5 minutes, perhaps you shouldn’t be in the foodservice industry, especially serving people with medical conditions? ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2007, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mucous-in-the-restaurant/407929/16 "2007-06-14T21:25:07Z")
[QUOTE=Ludovic] But if you really _need_ to spit every 5 minutes, perhaps you shouldn’t be in the foodservice industry [/QUOTE] Yeah, find a job in the newborn intensive care nursery. Perhaps we are too sensitive about bodily functions in restaurants. In some societies it is considered polite to take a dump under the table following an especially good meal, as a compliment to the chef. ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2007, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mucous-in-the-restaurant/407929/17 "2007-06-14T21:29:19Z")
[QUOTE=Jackmannii] In some societies it is considered polite to take a dump under the table following an especially good meal, as a compliment to the chef. [/QUOTE] I know I’m going to regret asking for a cite in the Pit, but… :dubious: Or am I being whooshed? ---
**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:** [June 15, 2007, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mucous-in-the-restaurant/407929/18 "2007-06-15T02:58:54Z")
[QUOTE=OneCentStamp] I know I’m going to regret asking for a cite in the Pit, but… :dubious: Or am I being whooshed? [/QUOTE] No, it’s God’s Own Truth. It’s only a couple of suburbs in Des Moines, but still… ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2007, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mucous-in-the-restaurant/407929/19 "2007-06-15T03:15:24Z")
> [@](#): > > Next time, take that mucous-packed head of yours either outside or to the WC West Coast? World Cup? Weather Channel? ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2007, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mucous-in-the-restaurant/407929/20 "2007-06-15T03:24:57Z")
[QUOTE=Patty O’Furniture] West Coast? World Cup? Weather Channel? [/QUOTE] WC = water closet, British for bathroom. If you actually knew that, and this is twice I’ve been whooshed in one thread… :smack: [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mucous-in-the-restaurant/407929.md?page=2)