Never Shovel Your Salad
In her 1944 guidebook Future Perfect, Bernice Morgan Bryant mentioned that you couldn’t just spit lettuce leaves into your mouth. Instead, she said, “First, try cutting your salad with a fork.” Then, if you find it challenging, pick up your knife and use it calmly.”
Never Shovel Your Salad
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Ultimate Offense
Cassell’s Household Guide was published in 1869 and detailed the intricacies of Victorian living, including, of course, many of the social dos and don’ts. The book also found the so-called act of “cutting” – failing to acknowledge anyone you meet whenever you encounter them on the street – “the most ill-mannered act imaginable to perform in civilization.” Let’s face it: we’ve all achieved it in the twenty-first century with no consequences.
Ultimate Offense