What to do about the knife...

You are attending a business lunch in with your work colleges...

"Would you like to hold onto your knife?" asked the server.

It always seems like a strange question. There you are holding a knife dripping with salad dressing and you are not quite sure what to do with it.  At a high-end restaurant you usually get a knife with your salad and another knife with the main course.  But some restaurants, in order to cut costs, cut back on the number of eating utensils.

Here are your options:

1. Give up the knife and ask for a new one.

2. Place your knife, blade in, horizontally across the top of your bread plate, if you have one.  Or prop it up on a spoon that is already resting on the table. 

3. If there are no other options, you may have to set the knife on the table itself.  (If you are worried your knife might pick up bacteria from the table, you need to read The Wall Street Journal's article this morning about what kind of bacteria is already on your cell phone.  Sometimes you just need a good pre-Halloween scream.)

What happens if your knife falls on the floor?  Wait for the serving staff to pick it up and hopefully, bring you a new one.

Etiquette Tip of the Week thanks to Culture and Manners Institute at http://www.cultureandmanners.com/