DEAR MISS MANNERS: What is the proper way to eat pitted cherries? Cutting them up to remove the pits seems excessive, but just spitting out the pits into a napkin doesn’t seem proper, either. Should I pit them ahead of time before consuming or putting them out for guests?
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GENTLE READER: Please don’t spit them into a napkin. You’ll never get out that red stain. Well, maybe you can (are we all searching the internet for this?), but Miss Manners would consider it a kindness to pit cherries before serving.
But you ask about being on the eating end, for perhaps less considerate hosts. Please do not spit it into their napkins, either. The correct way is to deposit it into your cupped hand with no accompanying sound effects, and then to transfer it to the edge of your plate when no one is looking.
(Please send your questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners.com; to her email, dearmissmanners@gmail.com; or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.)