Emigrating has generally been a very, very complicated and difficult task, but by far the hardest aspect has been relearning how to use a knife and fork.
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@jpm Americans eat with the fork and knife in the opposite hands, and the fork reversed. And I am ADHD enough to be self conscious about this.
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This is legitimately not a joke. I feel so stupid and clumsy. I'm not sure I will ever get it down even though I try every single time I go out to dinner. And I was raised with strict table manners and can eat with chopsticks perfectly, too.
@hacks4pancakes the left-handed fork thing and never putting the utensils down kicked my ass for years.
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@hacks4pancakes the left-handed fork thing and never putting the utensils down kicked my ass for years.
@weezmgk Its so, so hard. Such a fundamental, toddler skill. It's like relearning to walk.
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@hacks4pancakes the left-handed fork thing and never putting the utensils down kicked my ass for years.
@weezmgk @hacks4pancakes
The what and the what? -
@jpm Its how they caught spies in WWII
because it's so hard to break that habit. -
@weezmgk Its so, so hard. Such a fundamental, toddler skill. It's like relearning to walk.
@hacks4pancakes Yep. And people think we eat too much pizza and sandwiches. Please pass the tomato sauce, I'll finish this mountain of chips.
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Emigrating has generally been a very, very complicated and difficult task, but by far the hardest aspect has been relearning how to use a knife and fork. It's way harder than accents or driving on the other side of the road.
@hacks4pancakes this is intriguing, I hadn’t realised that there were US / AUS differences in this regard
(also, I’m now going to think of this as a “cutlery accent”
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@weezmgk @hacks4pancakes
The what and the what?@EndlessMason @weezmgk there are two ways people eat with a knife and fork and unless you are neurodivergent or a manners coach you don't know the other one exists. Well, you're probably on the spectrum if you are a manners coach.
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@jpm Americans eat with the fork and knife in the opposite hands, and the fork reversed. And I am ADHD enough to be self conscious about this.
@hacks4pancakes @jpm Wait, what? Fork reversed? Left hand?
As a European and several months in Japan I am now totally confused. I'll have to research on how every country uses their knife, fork, chopsticks and fingers while eating.
There should be some Wikicutlery on that... 🤭 -
@weezmgk @hacks4pancakes
The what and the what?@EndlessMason American table manners: Cut with a table knife in your right hand. Put down knife. Pick up fork with right hand, spear & place in mouth. UK/Aus: Keep fork in left hand, knife always in right, spear food with fork, left handed, then bite. It's harder than you think. @hacks4pancakes
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@jpm Americans eat with the fork and knife in the opposite hands, and the fork reversed. And I am ADHD enough to be self conscious about this.
@hacks4pancakes @jpm so Americans are always using their right for a fork and not changing sides from right to left when they are also using a knife? Or are Australians always using the left, even when they use just a fork?
*looks bewildered in European* -
@EndlessMason @weezmgk there are two ways people eat with a knife and fork and unless you are neurodivergent or a manners coach you don't know the other one exists. Well, you're probably on the spectrum if you are a manners coach.
You will argue that the entire Finnish nation is neurodivergent, but I do believe that while I learned to eat like a civilized person, I was also told the Americans eat like barbarians.
@hacks4pancakes @EndlessMason @weezmgk -
This is legitimately not a joke. I feel so stupid and clumsy. I'm not sure I will ever get it down even though I try every single time I go out to dinner. And I was raised with strict table manners and can eat with chopsticks perfectly, too.
I thought everyone knew this but ....
Neurodivergent story time!In the era of French aristocracy, American culture was just starting to get posh. And Americans (colonists then citizens) at the time decided great high class table manners meant copying high French fashion. So they adopted this weird "zig zag" method of eating where we only eat with the fork in our right hands facing up like you'd scoop food, but also only use the knife in our right hands. So every time you cut something you set the fork down and switch hands, then switch back. We can't eat with a fork in our left hand (if we were raised with strict table manners that don't care about handedness).
America did that big revolution and our big freedom thing and never switched back. The rest of the world moved on to knife in the right hand, fork in the left turned downward whilst cutting stuff.
You can always tell an American while eating by how we use the knife and fork. It's how they caught spies in WWII. Turns out it is incredibly hard to relearn XD
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You will argue that the entire Finnish nation is neurodivergent, but I do believe that while I learned to eat like a civilized person, I was also told the Americans eat like barbarians.
@hacks4pancakes @EndlessMason @weezmgk@osma Americans do eat like barbarians. Pizza, chicken, ribs, and burgers all mainly with (bare!) right hand. Barehanded! Filthy. @hacks4pancakes @EndlessMason
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@EndlessMason American table manners: Cut with a table knife in your right hand. Put down knife. Pick up fork with right hand, spear & place in mouth. UK/Aus: Keep fork in left hand, knife always in right, spear food with fork, left handed, then bite. It's harder than you think. @hacks4pancakes
@weezmgk @hacks4pancakes
I believe in Australian manners also includes the rule that's not a knife, this is a knife -
@weezmgk @hacks4pancakes
I believe in Australian manners also includes the rule that's not a knife, this is a knife@EndlessMason You've played knifey-spooney before, mate! @hacks4pancakes
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@osma Americans do eat like barbarians. Pizza, chicken, ribs, and burgers all mainly with (bare!) right hand. Barehanded! Filthy. @hacks4pancakes @EndlessMason
@weezmgk @osma @hacks4pancakes
counter point: eating pizza or fish and chips with a knife and fork is bonkers -
@EndlessMason You've played knifey-spooney before, mate! @hacks4pancakes
@weezmgk @hacks4pancakes bonza!
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I thought everyone knew this but ....
Neurodivergent story time!In the era of French aristocracy, American culture was just starting to get posh. And Americans (colonists then citizens) at the time decided great high class table manners meant copying high French fashion. So they adopted this weird "zig zag" method of eating where we only eat with the fork in our right hands facing up like you'd scoop food, but also only use the knife in our right hands. So every time you cut something you set the fork down and switch hands, then switch back. We can't eat with a fork in our left hand (if we were raised with strict table manners that don't care about handedness).
America did that big revolution and our big freedom thing and never switched back. The rest of the world moved on to knife in the right hand, fork in the left turned downward whilst cutting stuff.
You can always tell an American while eating by how we use the knife and fork. It's how they caught spies in WWII. Turns out it is incredibly hard to relearn XD
@hacks4pancakes If it helps, I can tell you that although I was raised in Europe, with a strict fork-in-left-hand rule, I never obeyed by it, because I felt fork in the right had was more convenient (i.e. knife in left hand).
I still do it to this day, and having eaten at both plain and fancy occasions in many places the world, I've survived.
But, on a similar topic, I have noticed that Americans very often tend to use a fork only, and then use the fork to cut things. I don't know if it stands out, but I notice it.
(perhaps people notice my holding the fork wrong and they're just too polite to mention it?)
Edit: One more thing: The only time my knife-in-left-hand gives me trouble is when I go to a fancy restaurant and they have those special fish knives. Those are difficult to use with the left hand.
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@weezmgk @osma @hacks4pancakes
counter point: eating pizza or fish and chips with a knife and fork is bonkers@EndlessMason not just bonkers, elitist boobery eg Mitt Romney @osma @hacks4pancakes
