I was going to say, WOOKIN, that he might have all kinds of breeding, but not much class. 
Another usual switcher here. Not always, but usually.
Yup, switch in public and frequently in private. I’d heard stories about how Europeans eat, but honestly thought they were exaggerated as I always thought they had a little class over the pond. I still imagine non-switchers grasping their cutlery as one would a torch and frantically jabbing at their food when I hear that method described. If you’re in such a hurry that you can’t put down your knife when you’re not cutting, just pick the stuff up with your hands.
Of course, Miss Manners has assured me that it’s possible for two different things to be proper depending on your location (but I still can’t do that tines-down thing)
{Elaine Benes} He was one of those bounders!{Elaine}
I can count the number of times I use a knife in a month on one hand and have fingers left over, so this whole issue never comes up. I cut stuff with the side of my fork. As a vegetarian, I never have to cut up meat, so this isn’t a problem.
I ran across an article, once, that claimed that the difference arose because forks came to the colonies later and that the American motions were developed using a knife and a spoon. Hold with the spoon, cut with the knife, then eat with the knife.
Can anyone call bogus on that one?
No she didn’t in this case. That is why I was so pissed off. About 15 years ago or so, she said that all people in America should eat with a knife and fork America style. She implied that only retarded cretins in America eat European style even though it is much more elegant and functional. The end.
I immediately fantasized about how I would
- Catch her off-guard
- Cinch up her corset as tight as it would go,
- Pummel her with fine China
- Throw a cup of tea in her face
- Write filthy things all over her guest book
- And then send her a Thank You note for letting me kick her ass.
The whole column was a travesty to practicality, style, and spirit.
As far as I’m concerned, how a person handles his/her silverware is an entirely personal business and the GOVERNMENT SHOULD STAY OUT OF OUR DINING ROOMS! IF I WANT TO USE TWO KNIVES AND NO FORK THAT’S MY BUSINESS AND IT WON’T CAUSE THE DOWNFALL OF THE TRADITIONAL DINNER PARTY, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!!
Well that’s why I said “depending on location” - When in Rome, and all that. The proper method in the US is not the proper method in Europe and if one is to be unfailingly polite, one would follow the rules of etiquette for the country in which one was eating.
Been more than a few years since I cared about that kind of thing as royalty continues to not recognize what a contribution to a dinner party I would be.
No. Hell no. The pairing that God intended was a fork and a knife. Each had their place and essential roles as nature intended. If you just open it up to “anything goes” place settings, one day you are going to walk into a dinner party and will be just a bunch of fruit spoons laying around on the table some laying on another one, others just in a big pile. That is not the way it is supposed to be.
Right handed, switcher. I will occasionally cut more than one piece before switching out the knife, however.
If you’re using the fork as a scoop then you have the tines up; if you’re not, then the tines are down.
As a Brit I’d never heard of swapping knife and fork when eating, and I’ve never noticed it in American movies.
Devout non-switcher here; my mom’s European and taught me European table manners. Of course, having grown up in an area where eating with the fork in the left hand all the time, I got a lot of “are you left handed?” questions from kids my age on the occasions where a fork and knife were necessary. I guess it seems a lot more difficult if you weren’t trained to eat with the fork always in your left hand from the start. (I still defer to the right hand if there’s no knife to wield, though; I may be good with my left hand, but I’m right handed enough to feel weird if my right hand is not in use at the dinner table.)
I’m a leftie and I switch hands, but I do recall being taught to do it this way. I’m not sure I understand how the “European” way works. Which do you put down, fork or knife, to pick up a glass or a roll?
I’m left handed. I switch forks, spoons and knives around often.
I did the cut-and-switch thing until I was 17. Then I went to Germany as a foreign exchange student, and my host brother asked his dad “why I was eating like that.” I was very embarrassed, so I learned to eat with the fork in my left hand and now it is second nature to me. I only use the fork in my right hand when there is no need for a knife. FWIW I’ll teach my own children to do the same. It just seems more civilized.
Also, in Germany, it is considered very rude to rest your hand in your lap while eating.
Wait, so most of the time that you use a knife, you don’t have fingers left when you’re done? :eek:
From my experience, if you need to pick up your water glass or a roll, you put down all your silverware so that you can use either hand. It makes it easier to concentrate on one task at a time that way.
BAAAAHAHAHAHA!
Serious question: Do most of you find you need a knife to eat at most meals?
I pointed this out in the “funny things people do when they eat” thread, and got a couple of desultory replies. I’m astounded that such an obvious inconvenience is so widespread, and that so many people think it’s some amazing feat of dexterity to lift food to their mouth with the left (or non-dominant) hand. Honestly folks, it’s perfectly easy and almost everyone in the world outside the US does it that way from childhood (it’s not just Europeans).
Sure. Not at lunch since I mostly eat fruit and dairy, but almost always at dinner. It’s not ladylike to pick up meat and gnaw on it, you know? Breakfast depends on what it is - cereal and breakfast cookies obviously don’t require a knife, but if it’s pancakes or french toast, cramming the whole thing in one’s mouth is also frown upon. What are you eating that doesn’t require cutting?