On Mon, 06 Aug 2007 08:30:59 -0400, Julia Altshuler
<jaltshuler@comcast.net> wrote:

>Phred wrote:
>>
>> I'm happy to be shown I'm wrong, but the impression we have here in Oz
>> is that "Americans" chop stuff up, then switch the fork to the other
>> hand to shovel the bits into the mouth. Are you saying they do this
>> one bite at a time? Or have I got my ethnics mixed?
>
>
>Standard procedure is to put the fork in the left and knife in the
>right. Cut one bite of food. Put the knife on the side of the plate,
>switch the fork to the right, put the left in the lap, then put one bite
>of food in the mouth. Chew slowly with mouth closed while returning
>cutlery to their original fork in left, knife in right positions and
>repeat. This thread shows that's not the only way Americans do it, but
>that's standard for a great many of us. You can see why it's considered
>awkward if you're not used to it. It's an awful lot of moving the
>silverware around, but that's the way I learned, and it's very normal
>and ordinary for most of us.
>
>
>--Lia

i have seen putting the fork down between bites touted as a diet
method.

your pal,
blake