What do I say if I burp?

  1. Nothing, just ignore it.
  2. Say "Excuse me" to no one in particular and go on eating.
  3. Laugh and try to burp again louder.

A. 2, Say "Excuse me" to no one in particular and go on eating. Don’t make a big deal out of it.

Why do I have to act differently when people come to dinner?

From the beginning of time, guests in one's home have been given a place of honor and other special treatment. We are on our best behavior so those guests feel comfortable, special, and welcome.

Asia

Place your chopsticks to the side of your bowl; never stand them upright. That’s how rice is offered to the dead!

Which place setting pieces are yours?

Your bread plate is always on your left, and your drink is always on your right. A good way to remember this rule is to remember that the word drink starts with the letters DR for "drinks right."

What about finger foods?

You eat things like ribs and tacos and corn on the cob--no matter what company you are in--with your fingers. For most foods, you will use cutlery.

However, In the Middle East and parts of Africa, for example, people still eat properly with their hands. The food of those cultures is designed to be eaten that way.

Adjust to the standards and customs of the culture you are in. It might even be acceptable to eat with your feet, but only if you are dining with a family of baboons.

Should I help to clean up?

  1. Yes, always.
  2. Offer.
  3. No, that’s the host/parents job.

A. 2, Offer Whether you are at a dinner party or a picnic, the offer is the important thing. Sometimes the host will not want you to help. If so, don't insist.

What do you do if you don’t like what is being served?

  1. Eat some of everything that is served.
  2. Refuse the food and sit quietly.
  3. Make the host/parent prepare something else.

A 1, If eating at someone else's house or with guests in your house, do not reject food outright. Eat some of everything that is served. If you don't like a certain food, eat some and move the rest around on your plate as if you were eating it. This skill will serve you well through the years.

How much food should you take?

  1. Just a little. It’s impolite to overeat and there should always be leftovers.
  2. Fill your entire plate, so you know you’ll have plenty.
  3. Just what you know you can eat and leave some for others.

A 3, Just what you know you can eat. Let everyone have some and if you’re still hungry you can have seconds.
What should you do if you’re chewing and want to talk?
  1. Just say what’s on your mind.
  2. Gulp the food down and blurt out your comment.
  3. Finish chewing, swallow, and smile. Then add your idea.

A-3 Finish chewing and calmly add to the conversation.

Should you chew with your mouth open or shut?

  1. Open
  2. Shut

A-2 Never chew with your mouth open.

If you leave the table what should you do with your napkin?

  1. Wave it around like a flag to let everyone know you’re leaving.
  2. Place your napkin on the chair and push the chair back under the table.
  3. Put it on or next to your plate.

A-2 Place the napkin on the chair.

How fast should you eat your dinner?

  1. As quickly as possible so I can leave the table and play.
  2. Very Slowly. It helps with digestion.
  3. Not slowly or quickly, but at the same pace as the grown-ups.

A-3 Take about 5 seconds between forkfuls. Gulping down food is unhealthy, unattractive, and it can be rude. Also, Everyone should finish around the same time.

Help something is stuck in my teeth! What do I do?

  1. Excuse myself and go to the bathroom to get it out.
  2. Use my fork to get it off my teeth while at my seat.
  3. Ask a someone to help me get it out.

A-1 Get it out in the bathroom

Toys, Hats, Gloves.

Keep them off the table. And this rule goes for keys, hats, gloves, eyeglasses, eyeglass cases, and toys. In short, if it isn't part of the meal, it shouldn't be on the table.
Faux Pas

According to G.R.M. Devereux in Etiquette for Women, published in 1901, after you pick up a piece of cutlery, it should never touch the table again—advice that applies today as well.
Bodily Functions

If you have to blow your nose, scratch, and so on, excuse yourself and leave the table.

Lost Food!

If you drop something during a meal at home, pick it up. At a friend's house, leave it until the meal is over and then pick it up. At a restaurant, ask the server to replace it if you wish.

Japan

Blow your nose in private. This is never done in public!
When is it acceptable to put your elbows on the table?
  1. Only between courses.
  2. While you are eating.
  3. Never.

A-1 Contrary to popular belief, elbows on the table is acceptable between courses or after everyone has finished eating.
Live and Learn

When forks first appeared in Italy about 900 years ago, they were not widely accepted. People at that time still preferred to use their fingers and a knife. Forks became widely popular only about 200 years ago, but not all cultures embraced the newfangled invention.

During the meal you need to visit the restroom. What do you do?

  1. Announce to everyone, "I've gotta go to the toilet."
  2. Say, "Excuse me for a moment, I'll be right back."
  3. Say nothing -- just leave.
  4. Sit quietly and suffer until the meal is over.

A-2 Publicly announcing bodily functions is crass. Just leave with the minimum amount of fuss. A quiet "Excuse me for a moment, I'll be right back" is sufficient.

When you are not eating, where do you keep your hands?

  1. On your lap or resting on the table.
  2. In your pockets.
  3. Keep'em busy. Drum a little tune with your fingers.

A-1 On your lap or resting on the table (with wrists on the edge of the table) is ideal.
Is it good manners to read the newspaper at the table, use a cell phone or text message?
  1. Only if you're willing to share the sports section.
  2. Yes-- as long as you keep it neatly folded.
  3. No. Reading or watching TV during dinner is a social no-no.

A-3 Reading and cell phone use at the table is bad manners and something busy moms and dads tend to forget ;-) Ideally, dinner is a time for nourishment and conversation.

At dinner, when should you start eating?
  1. As soon as you are served.
  2. When everyone has been served.
  3. When the host or parent begins to eat.

A-3 It's bad manners to dig in before everyone else is served and the host (or hostess) has begun to eat. In very formal settings the sign that it is OK to eat comes when the hostess unfolds her napkin and places it on her lap.

You really want another helping of potatoes but they’re across the table. What do you do?
  1. Reach over plates to get it.
  2. Ask for the item to be passed.
  3. Get up from the table and walk to where it is.

A-2 Don't reach over someone's plate for something, ask for the item to be passed to you. It shows consideration.

When eating chips with dip, is it OK to dip, take a bite, and return for more dip with the same chip?

  1. Yes
  2. No

A-2 Double dipping is in the same league as licking the salt off the chips and placing them back in the chip bowl. Yuck!

When talking with friends, family, it's not necessary to say "Please" and "Thank You".

  1. True
  2. False

A-2 "Please" and "Thank You" and good manners are a sign of respect and a way of letting friends, family, and loved ones know we're not taking them, or their company for granted.
You're over at a friend's house for dinner and are served a dish you've never had or seen before. What do you do?
  1. Make a face and poke it with your fork.
  2. Wait until the host looks away and give it to the family dog.
  3. Say something like, "Thank you, I love new foods. I've never had this before and I can't wait to try it."

A-3 Unless the food is going to make you deathly ill, eat it with gusto. It's OK to say something like, "Thank you, I love new foods. I've never had this before and I can't wait to try it."
When eating rolls at the table I should…
  1. Break off a piece of bread before buttering.
  2. Eating the whole piece of bread at once.
  3. Use a fork and knife to eat the roll.

A-1 Break off small pieces, eating the whole piece looks tacky.
A Mouth Full!

Don't stuff your mouth full of food, it looks gross, and they could choke.
Your friends’ mother made a special dinner when you came over, but you really didn’t like it. What should you do when you leave?
  1. Thank the host and tell them how great it was, even if it wasn't.
  2. Don’t say anything just go home.
  3. Say thanks for having me, but if I come again, I’d like something different for dinner.

A-1 Thank the host and tell them it was great. Show your appreciation for the time, energy, and expense to prepare the food.

Brazil

Always use utensils at meals. If it’s finger food, use a napkin to pick it up. Here, even sandwiches are eaten with a fork and knife.
Do Chineese mothers make their kids eat everything on their plates?
  1. Yes, food is very expensive in China
  2. No, Cleaning your plate in China is considered rude.
  3. Yes, but only if it has rice in it.

A-2 Cleaning your plate in China is rude because someone might think you didn’t get enough to eat and your still hungry.
When people in Austria clink glasses while making a toast, they must look each other in the eyes. Why?
  1. It’s considered polite to know somebody’s eye color.
  2. It’s a game to see who can clink without looking at the glasses.
  3. They are acknowledging each other’s existence.

A-3 They want to honor the person’s life by recognizing each other with a look.
In a Spanish snack bar, what should you do with your crumbs, old napkins, food wrappers and other debris?
  1. Pile everything up on an empty plate.
  2. Just throw everything on the floor.
  3. Use the trash bags that are on every table.

A-2 In snack bars in Spain, they sweep everything up at the end of the evening – you’re expected to dump stuff on the floor!

What do the English think about Americans eating fried chicken with their hands?

  1. Americans are hopeless slobs.
  2. It’s okay if there are no utensils around.
  3. Chicken should be boiled, not fried.

A-2 The English say if there are no utensils around, it’s okay to eat with the hands. Asking for utensils would be an insult to the cook – it would mean you didn’t want to just dive into the food.
What’s the right way to ask a chef for ketchup in France?
  1. "Give me the ketchup, Bud!"
  2. There is no right way to ask a chef for ketchup in France.
  3. Catsup, s’il vous plait.

A-2 Asking a chef for ketchup in France would be an insult – it means you don’t like the food.
In fancy restaurants in Germany, what is the proper way to cut your potatoes?
  1. With your fork.
  2. With your knife.
  3. With a genuine Flickenmasher portable potato slicer.

A-1 With a fork. A fork makes a rough cut in the potato to hold all the beefy German gravy.
In Canada, how do the Inuit people say, "Thank you, the food was excellent?"
  1. They perform the ancient "Dance of A Thousand Thanks."
  2. They burp.
  3. They leave coins under the plate.

A-2 They burp, it’s considered a sign of thanks.
If you’re eating a whole baked fish in Poland, why shouldn’t you flip it over?
  1. You’ll overturn the fisherman’s boat.
  2. You don’t really want to see what’s under there.
  3. The bones will come loose and that’s considered very bad luck.

A-1 There’s an old wives tale in Poland that flipping over a fish in a plate will flip over the fisherman’s boat in the water.
In many parts of Scotland is it OK for kids to do their homework right after dinner?
  1. No way. After dinner is always TV time.
  2. Of course. That’s the perfect time to do homework.
  3. Uh, well, most kids aren’t home after dinner.

A-3 In many parts of Scotland lunch is called "dinner," so kids are likely to be still in school "after dinner."
How do you show your host you like your meal in Japan?
  1. Bang your water glass loudly on the table, but not so hard that it breaks.
  2. Applaud loudly.
  3. Slurp your noodles as loudly as possible.

A-3 In Japan, slurping noodles is a compliment to the chef. It means you like your food so much, you can’t wait to get it in your mouth.

If you live in Singapore is it OK to chew gum?

  1. Yes, in fact almost everyone chews it if they are not dining.
  2. No, it’s against the law.
  3. Yes as long as you’re not at school or work.

A-2 In Singapore most types of gum have been illegal since 1992 when residents grew tired of scraping the sticky stuff off their sidewalks. In Switzerland, and France, public gum-chewing is considered gross and vulgar.
In most Arab countries, should you pass food with your left hand or the right hand?
  1. Right Hand
  2. Left Hand
  3. Either is fine.

A-1 The Right Hand, it is impolite to pass food or eat with the left hand. The left hand is considered unclean, and it is also extremely rude to offer it for a handshake or to wave a greeting. Historically, people living in deserts didn't have access to toilet paper, so the left hand was used for "hygienic functions," then cleaned by rubbing it in the sand.

 

Rules of the game…

There are 3 categories

Everyday table manners

Manners around the world

Quick Facts

Everyone takes a turn until all questions are answered.

On your turn roll the die. For each correct answer you get a piece of candy.

If you roll a,

1 you must answer a table manners question

2 for a Manners around the world question.

3 and you read a Quick Fact to the group and collect your candy

4 You get to choose a category from the questions remaining

5 Free – collect your candy and pass your turn

6 Choose 1 person to answer the question of your choice for you! Choose wisely.
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