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Table etiquette is not only a rule not to put your elbows on the table and not talk with your mouth full. There are many rules that we break, although these violations seem to us quite acceptable in the circle of our family and close friends.
But this behavior is unforgivable if you find yourself at the same table with business partners or unfamiliar people. Therefore, it is worth knowing what is permissible at the table and what is not. What rules of table etiquette do we break most often?
1. Phone calls and SMS
It is strictly forbidden to use the telephone at the table. It should be turned on silently and stowed away in your bag. If you are waiting for an important call or left your children at home, you can excuse yourself and put the phone next to you, distracting it only with a glance.
2. Vanity and hunger
Even if you are hungry, you should not pounce on food, demonstrating your impatience. Start your meal only when orders are brought to everyone present. Don’t fuss, wave your arms, or pull your clothes or hair.
3. A bag on a table or chair
Of course, it is impossible to do without a bag – for bags in restaurants, there are usually separate special chairs. If there is none, a small clutch can be placed at your plate, and a bulk bag can be hung on the back of a chair or placed on the floor, like a men’s briefcase.
4. Cutlery raised from the floor
If something falls on the floor, you cannot get up and try to clean everything yourself. Just ask the waiter to bring you new cutlery.
5. Fork in the right hand
A knife in the right hand, a fork in the left – even children know this rule. In a restaurant, even if you put the knife aside, you should continue to hold the fork in your left hand – this will indicate your exquisite manners.
6. Conversations on forbidden topics
In a good society at the table, they do not talk about politics, economics, finance, problems with their health, family relationships, religion and money. It is also forbidden to inform everyone about your diet or avoiding alcohol. For the sake of decency, you can always pretend that you are passionate about food and drink some white wine.
7. Toothpicks and dental floss
It seems that if you do not pick in your mouth with your fingernail or finger, then special devices for this will somehow brighten up the situation. Everything related to oral hygiene is an intimate matter, and you should brush your teeth from food debris in the bathroom or restroom.
8. Poking the waiters
The waiter is a stranger, and it is unacceptable to treat him familiarly. The same applies to all those present at the table – you can go to you with the interlocutor only by mutual agreement.