Evening star., 1940-04-19
Whether Chinese Sue Is Mighty Good Concoco
The Handling
OF a Knife
And Fork
English Method Is
AS Good Form as
The American
BY EMILY POST.

Why an able bodied person should
ever pretend that the left hand IS
useless for eating, I don't know. It
is not a practice that I have ever
personally encountered, but I know
it is customary in many American
communities and it has often been
described to me. In its exaggerated
form 1t is a mincing practice that
suggests q crippled left hand that
cannot be lifted more than 8 inches
above the plate or tablecloth. Most
Of the letters I have received on
this subject have been In criticism
of the "affectation" or of the
"stuttering manner" OF this prac-
tice. Today q letter from a large
Eastern university describes an op-
posite extreme, which does not
sound very pleasing either.
Recently" my correspondent
writes, Il have been receiving a
little criticism from some of nv
sisters in the sorority because Of
the manner In which I handle nv
knife and fork. My parents are
English and so all my life have
been in the habit of eating in the
English style. This means cutting
OF a foundation piece of meat and
pushing my vegetables onto the
meat against the back OF my fork
with my knife. Keeping the fork
In my left hand and my knife in
my right, I naturally lift the mouth
ful to my mouth. The Americans. of
course, put down their knife after
cutting each piece of meat, place
the fork In the right hand and
then spear the meat and shovel up
the vegetables-left hand meanwhile
Is required to be lying in lap. I
personally prefer the English wav
and would like to know if it is not
considered all right to continue eat
Ing in this manner, even on formal
occasions"
In answer to this, according to
best usage (American as well as
European), it is entirely right to
keep your fork in your left hand
and to lift the piece of meat to
your mouth with the fork in this
same prowns-down position. But
you must not pile food up against
the back Of your fork as though
your knife were trowel! You can
spear piece of meat and put
taste OF dressing or condiment on
your meat with the tip of your
knl1e; you can even put piece of
potato or a small amount of other
vegetable on the meat, but no more
IMAM Just enough to fit neatly and
not smeared up against the tines.
II you want to eat fairly large
mouthfuls of vegetables between oc-
casional pieces of meat, out two or
three pieces of meat, then hold YOUR
fork shovel-fashion in your right
hand. s44 4+
Dear Mrs. Post: What implements
should be served with q baked apple?
You wouldn't supply a formal des-
sert spoon and fork for such a
simple dessert?
Answer-Of course I would. In
fact, If baked in its skin, know OF
nothing that so much needs the two
dessert implements, the fork In the
left hand to skewer the apple down
while you scrape the fruit from the
inside Of the skin with the spoon
held in the right.
Dear Mrs. Post: Will you please
tell me the correct way for an un-
married woman to include her re-
turn address on an envelone2
Should she use or omit the title
Miss?
Answer-The title is correct when
a full address follows your name.
II you have little gummed labels
printed with your name and address
you should include the Miss. When
you simply want to give information
to the post Office in case your letter
has to be returned, you abbreviate
name and address to A. Smith, %
|. Park st., Fairly, Mass.