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    LizorRay's Avatar
    LizorRay Posts: 2, Reputation: 1
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    #1

    Sep 4, 2007, 05:09 PM
    Knife or fork?
    When I have a tender cut of meat, a pancake, large vegetables, etc. is it improper to cut with only my fork and not use my knife?
    CaptainRich's Avatar
    CaptainRich Posts: 4,492, Reputation: 537
    Cars & Trucks Expert
     
    #2

    Sep 4, 2007, 05:15 PM
    That depends...
    Whos' house and present company...
    br_hjs's Avatar
    br_hjs Posts: 160, Reputation: 11
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    #3

    Sep 4, 2007, 05:17 PM
    Maybe if it's a really fancy place you are at, then you may want to use a knife but if not then you should be okay just using a fork.
    LizorRay's Avatar
    LizorRay Posts: 2, Reputation: 1
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    #4

    Sep 4, 2007, 05:22 PM
    Quote Originally Posted by CaptainRich
    That depends...
    Whos' house and present company...
    Our house among close friends or family.
    CaptainRich's Avatar
    CaptainRich Posts: 4,492, Reputation: 537
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    #5

    Sep 4, 2007, 05:26 PM
    Quote Originally Posted by LizorRay
    Our house among close friends or family.
    I'd say, unless you want to set the tone, try to match the presence of others. Be yourself.
    They know you and nobody needs to get uptight. We're not talking gowns and cumberbuns, are we?
    CaptainRich's Avatar
    CaptainRich Posts: 4,492, Reputation: 537
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    #6

    Sep 4, 2007, 05:39 PM
    There is a time and a place for what my Mom calls "company manners" Keep your elbows off the table and put your napkin on your lap...

    But home with family and close friends isn't the time to beget anxiety or put on airs.

    Save the prim and proper for that $100 per plate restaurant.
    lacuran8626's Avatar
    lacuran8626 Posts: 270, Reputation: 57
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    #7

    Sep 7, 2007, 06:50 PM
    It is acceptable to eat as you do as long as it's not messy or disruptive. The purpose of manners is to avoid offending other people, and to make things pleasant for yourself and others. A lot of it is also based on practicality - for example, the rule of letting people off an elevator before boarding makes a lot of sense in terms of making room for the new occupants.

    It is customary to "cut" eggs with the side of a fork and not the knife, and is actually the preffered method, or so I've read. I think doing so with pancakes, meatloaf, and things of that nature that easily can be cut in this way is perfectly fine.
    tickle's Avatar
    tickle Posts: 23,796, Reputation: 2674
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    #8

    Sep 11, 2007, 05:10 AM
    Sorry, I don't agree about using a fork for cutting. Knife and fork should always be used for whatever it is, pancake, cake, eggs. Growing up I always followed my parents way at the table, any table, whatever meal; we used a fork and knife in its proper context and that's the way we do here at home for all family meals.
    Capuchin's Avatar
    Capuchin Posts: 5,255, Reputation: 656
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    #9

    Sep 11, 2007, 05:13 AM
    I am wondering why you wouldn't use a knife. It's not exactly going out of your way.
    nicespringgirl's Avatar
    nicespringgirl Posts: 1,237, Reputation: 187
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    #10

    Sep 13, 2007, 08:46 PM
    See what others are using and whom you are havint the meal with? Depends on how formal the meal is as well.

    When I was at school, I request chopsticks all the time!:D
    Fun times. I make my friends laugh, because I eat watermelon with the chopsticks too!:D
    iAMfromHuntersBar's Avatar
    iAMfromHuntersBar Posts: 943, Reputation: 146
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    #11

    Sep 14, 2007, 12:03 AM
    Personally I thinks it's a good meal if I can get through it with only using one bit of cutlery! Lol! But then again, I am really lazy!

    Like most other people have said, if it's just you and your mates - don't fret about it - unless it's upsetting someone else, i.e. your partner!

    Obviously if you're out at a restaurant, use both the knife and fork...

    Unless it's McDonalds... then you WOULD look stupid! Lol!
    Srennie's Avatar
    Srennie Posts: 2, Reputation: 1
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    #12

    Sep 17, 2007, 07:40 PM
    Quote Originally Posted by LizorRay
    When I have a tender cut of meat, a pancake, large vegetables, etc. is it improper to cut with only my fork and not use my knife?
    Yes always use a knife. Don't cut meat with a fork
    edrph's Avatar
    edrph Posts: 1, Reputation: 1
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    #13

    Jun 21, 2013, 08:50 AM
    Dear uncivilized, savage, wack-jobS,

    Please, PLEASE use a knife whenever you find yourselves using the side of your fork to saw at your food.

    A fork can be used to cut food ONLY if pressed downward in one single motion. A fork could be used to cut a mouthful of cake since the cake is soft enough to slice in one downward motion. A fork can NOT, and should not be used, to hack away at a stack of pancakes.

    I had a roommate that would eat an entire steak with his fork, sawing away like a bumpkin. Little beads of sweat would form on his forehead.

    One never knows when one will suddenly be in need of proper eating etiquette. One can never know when one will be honored at the White House for pulling people out of a burning building, or be at a job interview over dinner, or wonder why you never get a second dinner date with ANYbody. These are moments when it will be too late to suddenly clean up years of poor table manners, because then you'll be too self-conscious to function with proper etiquette. So anytime you find yourselves hacking or sawing away at a stack of pancakes, or meat of any kind, please, PLEASE, pick up your knife. (And please don't hold the knife just using the palm of hand like you're stabbing a wall at shoulder-height. That hand position is a bit savage and unelegant. Instead, use your fingers to caress the handle of the knife.)

    For those of you who condone the use of spoons when eating pancakes, please seek professional therapy as soon as possible.

    Thank you,
    The Professional Prig

    (P.S. Oh, and let's not forget to keep our mouths closed when chewing our food, and not to talk to each other with a mouthful of food. I remember 50 years ago when very few people would speak with a mouthful of food. Nowadays, seems like 90% of the US population wants to show you what's masticating in their mouths. Again, start training yourselves for that formal White House dinner today. Because once you're in the moment, it will be too late.)

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