DEAR ABBY: My wife uses her hands to push her food around her dinner plate and onto her fork or spoon. I see her do this at almost every meal, and usually say nothing. But every once in a while I feel compelled to ask her to stop using her hands to eat. When I do she says I'm "rude" to even take notice of how she eats and mention it.
Am I rude? I was brought up in a blue-collar home, and whenever I touched my food with my hands, or put my elbows on the table, I got a slap from one of my older brothers or sister. -- MINDED MY MANNERS IN NEW JERSEY
DEAR MINDED YOUR MANNERS: It appears your wife was raised in a household where good table manners weren't as important to her family as they were to yours. According to Emily Post: "If a piece of food keeps eluding your fork, don't push it onto the tines with your finger. Instead, use a piece of bread or your knife as a pusher." (Italics are mine.) Share this with your wife and the situation may improve.