GENTLE READER: After 50 years, you might let things be. Miss Manners can understand your having waited to be certain your new ...

I was rudely corrected for doing so by someone who thought I was about to commence eating before everyone had been served.

GENTLE READER: Ah, the old, “I wasn’t starting my dinner, I was just trying it.” The optics do not really distinguish between ...

DEAR MISS MANNERS: When serving a steak, the server will often say something along the lines of, “Please cut into the center ...

GENTLE READER: Ah, the old, “I wasn’t starting my dinner, I was just trying it.” The optics do not really distinguish between the two. It does feel unfair, Miss Manners agrees, when the servers are ...

On other occasions, when a server has given that invitation, I always cut into the center of the steak immediately, without taking a bite of it, before eating anything else on the plate. In a smaller ...

DEAR MISS MANNERS: When serving a steak, the server will often say something along the lines of, “Please cut into the center ...

GENTLE READER: After 50 years, you might let things be. Miss Manners can understand your having waited to be certain your new ...

Passing Food The Wrong Way: Always pass dishes to your right. This counterclockwise flow helps keep the meal smooth, especially with multiple dishes.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: When I tell someone I am an engineer, they often ask what my degree is. Related Articles Miss Manners: Is my husband right that my phone alarm is rude? Miss Manners: The ...

DEAR MISS MANNERS: Every graduation season, my nonagenarian mother receives invitations to at least one graduation. (She has over 20 grandchildren.) Miss Manners: Why do they doubt I’m really an ...