Dear Abby: Blowing one's nose at the dinner table, y/n?

[cereta]

DEAR ABBY: Could you please explain why so many people blow their noses at the supper table? You would think older folks would know better, but it seems like they are the worst offenders. I see a lot of this in restaurants or the cafeteria. I not only consider it rude but also gross.

Why can't people excuse themselves from the table and leave the room to do it? I generally go to the ladies room or, if I'm home, go into another room. My mother and brother do this -- and it's disgusting! What is your view on this? Maybe you could teach some of these folks some manners. -- GROSSED OUT IN FLORIDA

DEAR GROSSED OUT: Please don't think you are alone with your frustration because I'm asked this question a lot. I agree that listening to someone honk like a migrating goose is unpleasant. That's why the rule of etiquette states that those who need to clear their heads excuse themselves from the table. If someone must perform this function at the table, it should be limited to tiny dabs with a tissue to prevent a drip.

Comments

[vass]

This, and also places where "leaving the room" means a long procession past all the other diners in the restaurant or otherwise drawing more attention or causing more inconvenience than one would by blowing.


And also access needs -- in addition to what cereta said about allergies and chronic sinusitis, some people are slow or painful or unsteady walkers, or need assistance to leave the table.

[jadelennox]

I feel the same way about this that I do about the awful Ask a Manager answer where she agreed with the LW that people who fart in the office are being rude. Dude, I dunno about your body, but my body has a metabolism and gas and snot and all the mechanisms of the human body. Stop being a twelve-year-old and acknowledge that some people have bodily functions.

[vass]

As someone with IBS who, as a young child, got shouted at by a teacher for farting in class -- "YOU SHOULD HAVE GONE TO THE TOILET" -- about ten minutes after he had announced that no more people were allowed to go to the toilet that period... yes.