Would you say this was a red flag on a date?

[Margaretbaxter]

I'm so out of the loop so I have no idea.

We'd eaten in a café, I couldn't finish my food as I was full so I got the sandwich to take away.

A couple of hours later we were walking around and I got hungry again so took out my sandwich. He said let's find somewhere to sit down whilst you eat.

I said, thanks, but I'm ok honestly I don't mind walking around with it. He said, no I insist you sit down. I said again that I was honestly ok walking with it but he was absolutely adamant that we sat down.

There was just something that felt a bit off about him not taking no for an answer, am I reading into this?

If it were the other way round i would've not asked again after the first no.

I don't think it's bad manners at all, but if you like him, I'd let it slide.

He probably thought you might end up with indigestion but I agree it’s a bit off to insist on his own way. Hints at a control issue and thinking he’s right all the time.

No one has ever told me that walking and eating is rude 🤯

Haha not a red flag for me but I would find it weird that an adult would prefer to eat while walking. Very bad for digestion. And maybe he thought that you didn't want to sit down for his sake and he insisted for your sake..🤷‍♀️

OP, I know eating while walking is bad manners but I do it all the time - time saving and I actually like doing it. You are entitled to do what you want.

He sounds a bit too controlling. He could have said why its so important to him? maybe he was feeling he looks bad mannered himself is someone walking and eating near him? What a bore.

You've obviously not scoffed enough flakey juicy sausage rolls whilst walking and eating with a non walk and eater 😂

Yes definitely, he’s questionable for asking / suggesting something 3 times in a row, when you’d said you didn’t want to do it.

Yes it’s a bit grim walking and eating at the same time.

Both of these things are true. They’ve happened at the same time in this example.

Conclusion: You’re mismatched. Move on.

I dated someone who did that once. We got an ice cream and she insisted we sit down on a bench to eat it. I didn’t want to sit down, I wanted to get to where we were going. It really irritated me. I ended things soon after that, for other reasons, but broadly speaking because we just weren’t compatible. I didn’t feel comfortable with her.

Some people were brought up to believe that it’s rude to eat while you walk, I think. So maybe that’s why.

Maybe she does have bear hands with the fur and claws, maybe while she was apparently guzzling a sandwich, she was getting crumbs in her fur. 😂 I am aware it is bare hands, quick typo from not reading my message in any great detail. Tbf the point works either way, she wasn't eating soup with her bear or bare hands 😂

Well, stranger things have happened!
I have found myself using words incorrectly recently (there,their etc) although I had previously never done that--I blame all the incorrect grammar we now see everywhere!

I would really dislike it if a date did this. No beards to contend with hopefully (I'm a lesbian) but I wouldn't want to walk along while someone's eating. I do think It's bad etiquette, and rude. Not just my upbringing, it does seem a bit slovenly that someone can't wait to eat somewhere more suited to eating, and it isn't easy eating while walking and talking. Kind of like someone being on their phone in a way? Distracted. And I might suggest that we sit down although I wouldn't push it. I can't enjoy my food if I am walking along-and the adjectives used seem appropriate-I'd assume they'd be eating as quickly as possible (i.e 'shoving/guzzling') because it isn't ideal to eat and talk.

I won’t be told what to do when I’ve already said I’m okay so that would completely put me off. I’d have to ask why he was so insistent…. !

And this thread has been interesting because I had no idea walking around eating could be seen as a red flag… I wasn’t brought up to not eat while walking…
I’ll happily eat an ice cream/sausage roll etc while walking.

I’d rather sit down so I’m not doing too many things at once 😅 and so I can watch the seagulls coming closer, but I’ve not come across anyone who has an issue with walking around while eating until now…

I think my Granny said you shouldn't eat whilst walking as you can get cramp - or was that swimming? Anyway it's not a good look (a bag of chips is just about acceptable).

Theme parks never have enough seating for the many people visiting, along with festivals not having seating who would rather sit on wet muddy grass everyone’s been trampling across rather than stay standing/walking eating?
And funfairs don’t do seating either (I’ve walked around many a funfair stuffing my face with burgers,candy floss, toffee apples 😆) I couldn’t give a fuck what anyone thinks. I’ve also walked around town centres after a night out munching on kebabs 🤤

Never heard so much shite in all my life that eating while walking is bad manners that’s absolutely ridiculous and anyway the whole point of the thread is whether her date was showing red flags insisting she sits down; and yes he was. He sounds like a right prick!

He might see it as a red flag

Bang on.

Honest to God, the hyperbole over someone eating a sandwich whilst walking is astonishing, not to mention ripping apart someone's manners and upbringing.

Screech in Saved By the Bell said you shouldn't eat standing up or you'll get fat legs. The 90‘s were harsh.

I'm with you OP. A most bizarre collection of responses.
It seems that street food stalls need to be banned.
I have to assume that everyone saying it is common must be older than me as I had the strictest of upbringings and wasn't aware of this. I mean back in the day the only things we would have eaten while walking would be ice creams and maybe a cone of chips down at the seaside, but now street food is more widely available it's a widespread thing.
And no, you don't drop more because you're walking and eating, yyou don't nd up with it all over your face and you can certainly hold a conversation, just as you would if you were sitting at a table.

You don't know where people get the idea that it's bad manners to walk and eat in public? You can't possibly imagine that, just maybe, some people have grown up instilled with different standards than the ones you were raised with?

The only thing I've ever seen my mother eat while walking down the street is an ice-cream while at the seaside. I'm not that strict but to not even be able to comprehend why different people have different social mores is astonishing. Do you have a problem with putting yourself in other people's shoes in general, or is it only when it comes to manners?

@JoeSikoraTommysStory

Never heard so much shite in all my life that eating while walking is bad manners that’s absolutely ridiculous and anyway the whole point of the thread is whether her date was showing red flags insisting she sits down; and yes he was. He sounds like a right prick!

You might think it's ridiculous but it's pretty clear from this thread that not eating whilst out and about is a major no-no for a lot of people. I wouldn't do it and don't like to see it (sorry). As a child it was worded to me as "never eat out on the street". Exceptions are ice-creams at the beach or candy floss at the fair - and street food areas now I guess - like a lot of cultural things it doesn't always make 100% sense! When I took DC to theme parks we always found somewhere to sit and eat. So you may not have heard of it but many many people see it as impolite.

Of course it is relevant as posters are suggesting it could be the reason the date was so insistent.

However, I agree with you that, once OP had said "no", he should have let it go.

Doesn't mean they're not outdated & rudiculous with a stuck inserted.

funny how 'eating' always turns into stuffing/guzzling/shoving/jamming etc

🤣🤣🙇🏻‍♀️🙇🏻‍♀️

And he'd be welcome not to see me again, the Rude twat.

Blimey! I have never in my (nearly) 50
years in this earth heard that it is bad manners to eat while walking. I wonder what the problem with it is supposed to be.

Pp said it use to be associated with prostitutes !

I'm 50 and same. Clearly been dragged up with no standards.

I’m not a fan of eating while walking, but if I’d offered to sit down and the other person said they were happy I eat and walk, I’d let it go. Agree with other posters though OP, your reaction to this post is a bit of a red flag. You reacted to your date’s perceived unwillingness to accept your stance on a matter and you’re continuing it here.