DEAR MISS MANNERS: I know Miss Manners has decreed that diners should eat asparagus with their fingers. Does the same directive apply to broccolini spears?
GENTLE READER: Good heavens, no. Miss Manners cautions you not to try to apply reason to tradition.
(Please send your questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners.com; to her email, dearmissmanners@gmail.com; or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.)