Do People Secretly Think You

Re Jeff Tucker’s article on table manners (the latest entry in his Rules of Living): he missed a couple of obvious ones among his list of the essential ones. One is that when you leave the table temporarily (say, to go to the restroom), you place your napkin on the seat, to indicate you are returning to it (you put it on the table if you are leaving). Another is: place your fork and knife at 4:00 on your plate to signal you’re done (though nowadays waiters ask anyway since diners are not consistent).

The other is this. The bread plate is to your left; the glass of water is to your right. People mess this one up all the time. An easy way to remember it is this trick: FOOD and DRINK. FOOD has four letters, as does “left”; so the food (bread plate) is on your left; DRINK has five letters, as does RIGHT–i.e. the water (drink) is on your right. Important rules for cosmopolitan libertarians!

Share

11:09 pm on December 1, 2007