Fork tines down, point with thumb...what other cultural differences do I need to know?
Feb 15th, 2007 | 09:35 AM
#81
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 246
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Robjame,
THANK YOU for the peas with honey ditty. My husband was sure I made it up all these years!
My grandparents were Dutch and German respectively and they always ate the Continental way. Growing up this this always seemed much more sensible than than the American way my mother insisted we use.
All the "tine up or down", "fork in which hand" flapdoodle really doesn't matter. Discreetly observe other diners if doing the locally correct thing matters so much, but really, so long as you don't clutch your utensils with your fist, wipe your mouth with your sleeve or chew with your mouth open you should be fine.
THANK YOU for the peas with honey ditty. My husband was sure I made it up all these years!
My grandparents were Dutch and German respectively and they always ate the Continental way. Growing up this this always seemed much more sensible than than the American way my mother insisted we use.
All the "tine up or down", "fork in which hand" flapdoodle really doesn't matter. Discreetly observe other diners if doing the locally correct thing matters so much, but really, so long as you don't clutch your utensils with your fist, wipe your mouth with your sleeve or chew with your mouth open you should be fine.
Feb 15th, 2007 | 11:37 AM
#83
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 4,433
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Josser wrote: "If you are expected to eat with your fingers, they'll bring you a finger-bowl."
My first reaction was to advise people not to drink the contents of the finger-bowl.
Then I recalled that in France you do not often get finger-bowls with dishes like crevettes that you are expected to eat with your fingers. First, they are not very messy and, second, you have bread to wipe your fingers on.
My first reaction was to advise people not to drink the contents of the finger-bowl.
Then I recalled that in France you do not often get finger-bowls with dishes like crevettes that you are expected to eat with your fingers. First, they are not very messy and, second, you have bread to wipe your fingers on.
would go a long ways towards indicating irony.
Feb 15th, 2007 | 05:11 PM
#93
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 19,000
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Irony requires a <u>context</u>. Absent any clues within or outside the post, "I'm too busy laughing at their clothes" has no referent, therefore it can't be ironic.
Here, read up: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irony
Here, read up: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irony
Feb 16th, 2007 | 03:10 AM
#95
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 10,623
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Annhig's "As usual ira gets in first" was a pretty big clue. For that matter, I thought ira's post was pretty ironic (and funny, as well.)
Some people prefer to hold the irony in their left hand and cut with the knife, but others are gentler and lay down the knife before picking up the irony. I prefer the latter kind, myself...
Some people prefer to hold the irony in their left hand and cut with the knife, but others are gentler and lay down the knife before picking up the irony. I prefer the latter kind, myself...
Feb 16th, 2007 | 03:46 AM
#96
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 219
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>> Don't ask people how much they make. The French have a strange relationship with money. <<
Very right, and much more important than all this fork and knife stuff. Asking a French person you don't know beyond formalities how much he earns is the rudest move I can think of.
Very right, and much more important than all this fork and knife stuff. Asking a French person you don't know beyond formalities how much he earns is the rudest move I can think of.
Feb 17th, 2007 | 08:33 AM
#99
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 9
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Point taken, ira.
Also, last night i ate in a 'trendy' new restaurant which we supply to. For the first half of the meal there were only two of us dining with four waitresses and the owner for company. This thread came to my mind...
Also, last night i ate in a 'trendy' new restaurant which we supply to. For the first half of the meal there were only two of us dining with four waitresses and the owner for company. This thread came to my mind...
Feb 17th, 2007 | 10:59 AM
#100
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 7
Likes: 0
Regarding my attempt to write up formal European dining customs as I've observed them in Paris:
Padraig: Thanks for your suggestions; I've tried to incorporate them. Pvoyageuse: Yes, I was trying to hit the formal end of the spectrum, since that's where it seems like one needs the most cultural information to feel at ease. A casual context is more international. That part of the site is in a wiki, so it works just like Wikipedia: click on one of the edit tags and go at it. The great places listings in the main part of the site require signing up (under membership) to post.
Padraig: Thanks for your suggestions; I've tried to incorporate them. Pvoyageuse: Yes, I was trying to hit the formal end of the spectrum, since that's where it seems like one needs the most cultural information to feel at ease. A casual context is more international. That part of the site is in a wiki, so it works just like Wikipedia: click on one of the edit tags and go at it. The great places listings in the main part of the site require signing up (under membership) to post.
