>Always interesting to see the analogs of island vs continental culture when comparing UK <-> America and Japan <-> China.
replywhen America was settled/founded by Britains, etiquette had not been standardized in GB either so the differences are due to parallel development, not island vs continent. That probably holds even more for differences between Japan and China.
I counter with the American swap-the-fork-hand-after-you-cut thing. Diabolical.
replyAs an American, I don't think I have ever seen anyone do this.
replyIt's like you've never met someone who's left handed
replyReally? You hold the fork with your dominant hand, and cut with your non-dominant hand?
replyYes. For the record, Americans also don't wear their shoes indoors, except for maybe some people in extremely dry climates.
replyDon't all younger Americans do this? Cutting food and pushing it onto the fork requires less dexterity than conveying it to one's mouth. I know Boomers who put down their knives after each cut (never using them to push) and swap their fork around before using it tines-down, and I think it's more comically affected than the tea–pinky thing.
replyYou're not supposed to use the fork like a shovel, is the thing. The tines are to skewer the food, which is why tines-down makes sense. Otherwise, why not a spoon?
replyAlso, the at-distance interaction between two tools requires much more dexterity than making your hand meet your mouth. The latter you should be able to do with your eyes closed.
Really? You don't know any Naval Academy graduates then.
replyIt's considered polite in American culture.
replyThat’s just mental. Does my head in when I see it.
replyAmerican raised by a Brit here, and I was literally just doing this during lunch out. I consider the upside down fork just plain torture.
replyWould you mind sharing your insight? I'd be interested to hear!
replyWhat stuffy traditional practices does the UK have?
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