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player ready...Finger-Licking Good
What do you say to a hostess who licks her fingers while serving a cake, smacking her fingers clean after each cut?
Following a year in which even the least germ-averse among us have grown accustomed to distancing and mask-wearing, one would think a public service announcement on this topic would not be necessary. And yet, here we are.
Your sweet-toothed compatriot clearly believes the best part of any cake is the frosting. No argument there. Regardless, it’s high time she dropped this habit — both in the name of manners and, more important, in support of hygiene.
If you suspect her motive is ensuring no new slice is marred by crumbly residue from the previous cut, offer her a paper towel or napkin to wipe the serving utensil — and, if need be, her hand — after each plating. Should she reply with a cheery version of “No, I’m good!” take a page from “Jeopardy” and re-phrase your suggestion in the form of a question: “Would it not be more sanitary that way?” If your gentle entreaty falls on deaf ears, pass on a slice for yourself, and for subsequent visits to her home, bring a dessert that end-runs the issue — a confection whose presentation involves neither licking nor onsite slicing. Brownies, anyone?
Stuck in the Middle With You
Who gets the armrests on a plane? I say first come, first serve.
You’ll forgive me for hoping I never wind up in a middle seat next to you!
As domestic travel rebounds following a period when so many of us avoided flying at all costs, airlines are sending up planes fuller and fuller. Which means we are once again jockeying for precious elbow room with perfect strangers.
I’d ask you to consider that by default, passengers on the aisle and the window each inherit one uncontested armrest. Now factor in the wholesale undesirability of a middle seat. On reconsideration, perhaps you would conclude that a passenger stuck betwixt and between should have exclusive access to both the left and right armrests. Out of pity if not out of common courtesy.
Though there are far weightier issues for the world to be solving than this one, by ceding armrest real estate to a fellow traveler, you make the experience of air transit less grueling for everyone. If, however, you cannot bear the thought of taking to the skies without a means of propping up both elbows, there is another option. For your next trip, book yourself a middle seat.
Mister Manners, Thomas P. Farley, is a nationally regarded expert who appears regularly in the media to discuss modern-day etiquette dilemmas. Send your question to [email protected] and follow Thomas on Facebook, Twitter, Clubhouse and Instagram. For more insights, subscribe to his podcast, “What Manners Most.”
(c)2021 What Manners Most. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.