Bad Table Manners Are a Give-Away

Gretchen whacks and stabs at roast, potatoes and vegetables, reducing all to mince-meat before she eats. She brandishes elbows in mid-air, holds her fork awkwardly, and spreads her napkin like a blanket on her lap.

                                                

Gretchen thinks she's passing herself off as a person of culture. But her table manners are a dead give-away. She whacks and stabs at roast, potatoes and vegetables, reducing all to mince-meat before she eats. She brandishes elbows in mid-air, holds her fork awkwardly, and spreads her napkin like a blanket on her lap.

Well-bred diners cut off only one piece at a time and keep elbows lowered inconspicuously while cutting. They hold the fork easily with forefinger extended along the handle. And they lay the napkin across the lap in a double or triple-fold unless it's a tea napkin. Learn little points of etiquette that make you welcome at smart places. – Santa Ana Journal, 1936

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