Q. Having finished eating, where should one place the knife and fork?
A. To the right of the center of the plate, with handles toward the right.
Q. How long have knives been placed on the dining table?
A. Early in the sixteenth century this custom was established.
Q. When were forks introduced into England?
A. Forks were introduced from Italy during the reign of King James I.
Q. Should a hostess wait an indefinite time for all the guests to arrive for dinner?
A. It is customary to wait until fifteen or twenty minutes after the time mentioned in the invitations. Then, even though there are one or two guests who have not yet arrived, dinner should be served. If, however, the dinner is being given in honor of some celebrated guest, it may not be served until he has arrived.
Q. Is it polite to take bread with the fork, or with the fingers?
A. In no circumstances is it ever permissible to lift bread with a fork.
Q. Should pickles be eaten with the fingers, or cut into pieces and eaten with a fork?
A. Small pickles are eaten with the fingers.
Q. Should luncheon or dinner guests fold their napkins when they have finished eating?
A. Guests should not fold their napkins when finishing a meal unless they are to pay a visit of several days, when they follow the example of their host and hostess.
Q. Will you kindly tell me which is correct after having finished a meal, to leave the fork in an upright position or turn it over, on the plate?
A. At the conclusion of a meal a knife and fork are left on the plate slightly to the right of the center with the prongs of the fork turned upward.
Q. Should bread be folded in a napkin at a formal dinner?
A. No; this is no longer considered good form.
Q. In seating guests at dinner, should the husbands and wives and engaged couples be separated?
A. It is customary to separate married couples but to allow an engaged man to take in his fiancee.
Q. Was there ever a time when it was considered proper to eat with a knife?
A. The table knife became popular after the seventeenth century. During the period of transition from fingers to forks, knives were used for eating as well as for cutting.
Q. When a person helps himself from a service dish which is accompanied by a fork and spoon, which implement is taken in the right hand?
A. The fork is held in the right hand and the spoon in the left.
Q. How should a drinking glass and a coffee cup be held?
A. A drinking glass is held a little below the center between the thumb and first two fingers. The handle of a coffee cup is grasped by the thumb and first two fingers, the third and fourth being bent toward the palm.
Q. Who introduced into America the use of finger-bowls?
A. Thomas Jefferson introduced the use of fingers, bowls, and a number of
