The Etiquette Survival Kit for Adults

If you have to pick boogers, for Emily Post's sake, at least have the common courtesy to use an extended pinkie. Okay, that's not one of the tips found on this etiquette guide hosted by Brit manners guru Lyndy Janes. But some of the others, frankly, hail from the same alternate universe. How many of you really place fork and knife at the 11:25 position on the plate when finished eating? Would you "compliment" someone on his or her "lovely brown eyes" and risk a million dollar sexual harassment lawsuit? Are their women out there who still wait to be seated by men in restaurants? (I suspect your soup will grow cold Waiting for Mr. Bonehead.) All of which is not to say that Janes and her demonstrator/helpers aren't fun to watch as they work through the social niceties of seating arrangements, table settings, American vs. European style cutlery wielding, tough foods ("corn [on the cob], of course, should be eaten in the privacy of one's own home"), handshakes, remembering names, and phone skills. Co-created by Sue Fox (author of Etiquette for Dummies), this program is partially based on a popular workshop course which is, apparently, taking the Silicon Valley baby zoomer crowd by storm. Socially nervous nellies will eat this up, while people like me will continue to do what we always have when confronted with peas: reach for the spoon without hesitation or regret. Despite my quibbles, this is recommended. Also available: The Etiquette Survival Guide for Teens and A Place at the Table. Aud: P. (R. Pitman)