To spot a new cutlery affectation?

[elizadolittlechoc]

I noticed it last year at an 'all inclusive' hotel and this summer on reality TV shows (Dinner Date, Come Dine with Me etc). Some young women hold their knife and fork in wrong hands like pens with their fingers flailed out. Now I seem to be seeing it everywhere! Is it a fashion linked to expensive gel nails, an evolutionary development linked to dietary changes, or old fashioned bad manners?

Ooh interesting. I think I know what you mean

I haven't noticed this - I will watch CDWM and see if I can spot it.

Can we have an image of this? It sounds dreadful.

Weird.

I know exactly what you mean. I work in a restaurant and see this all the time.

Don't know but LOL @ 'expensive gel nails'. As opposed to 'cheap groupon deal gel nails'?

Maybe it's one of those weird social developments made to make young women look daft...like vocal fry?

Haha House, that made me laugh. Linguistically I understood teenage girls are the catalysts of language change, surprisingly (when I was studying at Uni millennia ago). I regularly meet/travel and see people from all over the world and whilst different nationalities' eating habits vary,eg. the American switching knife and fork over, French retaining cutlery between courses, but I have only seen Brit girls doing this. Can't afford to check out if it happens in 'fain daining' establishments.

Ooh so the weird grainy voices loads of women have these days has a name? I had noticed them but had no idea it was an actual thing

Yanbu. This 'style' of eating gives me the absolute rage!!! It is so uncouth: a combination of terrible table manners and the desire to seem uber-feminine while holding cutlery completely incorrectly.

holding cutlery completely incorrectly according to who? I've always had to swap my knife and fork over because my left hand is utterly useless and I'd miss my mouth if I tried to use a fork with it. Its something thats always puzzled me, who made up this right way

No, l don't think it is new.
It is done in an attempt to make one look refined
It doesn't.

Is it to show off the fancy nails? If it is, it sounds like that fucking stupid way of carrying handbags that a lot of women do where the handle is against the inner elbow and the lower arm is held up in a fist.

So when the paparazi snap celebs, you can see their handbag in all it's glory . I don't know who the normal women walking down the street like that think is going to take their picture.

I've never seen the cutlery nails thing, or noticed anyone vocal frying apart from they did a feature on Woman's Hour but they must not have illustrated it very well because I had no idea what they were on about.

It's been around for ages, I think it's supposed to look sophisticated. It must be a difficult way to eat, surely you wouldn't have much control over the cutlery?

Work isn't that how you're supposed to carry a tote? I never knew this is a celeb fad thing. I'm 23 and have carried a bag like that since I started using them, as do every other female I know

I HAVE A THEORY ABOUT THIS!!

It's caused by more people eating out of ready meal containers.....you can't hold your cutlery flat and parallel to the food like you can on a plate, so you have to angle them into the box, thus using the new and annoying method described by op. I caught myself doing it the other day whilst eating a ready meal. I felt dirty.

I have to use my cutlery the 'American' way. I am too strongly right handed to use a fork correctly in my left hand. I would end up with dinner on the floor. I actually have to use knife in right hand for cutting the swap to use fork to eat in right hand. It means I get fed and don't care if it's right or wrong.

Hamiltoes this is not a matter of swapping cutlery from dominant to less dominant hand for ease of eating...this is a full on cutlery-based abomination.
Loving your 'cutlery nails' work work. Who orders a side of thick acrylic with their dinner?

Vocal fry!
That daft sore throat affectation has a proper name! Mumsnet is always an education.

And the cutlery thing is indeed an abomination, as noted.

Holding knife and fork like pens = wrong. In 'wrong' hands? How do you know they are not left-handed? I am and hold cutlery the other way round round apart from knife and fork together, but that's due to the old fashioned attitudes of a horrible dinner lady at primary school.

I experimented with the method this evening with my home made cottage pie and our own French beans (showing off!!. it's not about left/righthandedness or dyspraxia. I actually found t quite difficult-mebbee if I keep it up I can have a figure like Cheryl.....

So do you mean American method here?
If not, I don't understand what is it that you mean and need a photo ofit please.
I always just cut up my meat to small bits in the beginning and then use only fork. Is that wrong way too?

I think it ties in with how acceptably cool anorexia is becoming. These last few days I've been in a large tourist city and have noticed some very VERY thin girls. Obviously with plenty of money and razor sharp control over their body weight. Some of the oriental girls with their gauzy pale dresses showing stick-thin legs were sad to see...

So maybe giving the impression that you're so unfamiliar with eating that you're not quite sure how to handle a knife and fork is coming from the same direction.
Just my idea.

Im really struggling to imagine what you mean. Is there a video or picture that shows it?

Ah yes, I noticed this too.

I think it's a combination of a few things.

Lack of knowledge of how to use cutlery,long nails hindering correct handling of the cutlery and the thing of looking likeyou don't eat often - hence can't/don't know how to do it.

Feckin' annoying and looks stupid.