DEAR MISS MANNERS: How would you suggest you handle it when people offer you the food they have not finished, left on their plate, other than a “No, thank you, I’m stuffed”?
My husband says I am too picky. I just was not brought up with communal eating habits and do not intend to change. Also, people serve cake and lick icing off their fingers, and continue as though all is fine. I could go on, but you get the idea.
GENTLE READER: Foods that are meant to be shared are placed on serving dishes -- from which individuals can then be served without having to forage among one another’s vegetables. Anything else is so informal that it escapes Miss Manners’ notice. The good news is that such offers can always be declined, preferably without discussion of the fullness of anyone’s stomach or the cleanliness of anyone’s hands.