Man’s egg-eating method disgusts wife

DEAR MISS MANNERS: My husband eats eggs that are cooked over-easy as if it were a surgical procedure: With extreme precision, he cuts a square on top of the egg and pulls the flap back to expose the yolk. He then cuts his sausage and dips it into the yolk puddle. He claims this does not violate any element of good table manners.

I find it a disgusting appetite suppressant. However, I can find no reference in my etiquette books that addresses this matter specifically.

Isn’t this a variation of playing with one’s food?

GENTLE READER: The etiquette rule that applies here is that any eating habit that disgusts one’s partner to the point of nausea should be ceased immediately. Miss Manners recommends that you encourage your husband to eat his over-easy eggs in private — and serve only hard-boiled or scrambled ones when you are breakfasting together.

DEAR MISS MANNERS:

I bought my dear friend a wedding shower gift back in January, before the world turned upside down. The gift was purchased through her registry, and I received a notification that it was delivered to the bride and groom.

A few weeks later, both the shower and the wedding were delayed until 2021.

I’ve spoken to my friend on the phone several times since then, but she has not brought up the gift.

I understand that my gift is not at the top of her mind, and I haven’t felt like it was appropriate to bring it up, but should I check to see if she received it at all?

GENTLE READER: Better to find out now, so that you can rectify the delivery problem, if need be, and alleviate any future doubt or resentment : “With the mail system being a bit precarious right now, I wasn’t sure if you had received the ravioli cutter. Please let me know if it did not come, and I will call the retailer.”

DEAR MISS MANNERS: My little brother always wakes me up in the morning and bothers me. I have tried to tell him calmly to go. I usually yell at him. What should I do? I want to sell my brother.

GENTLE READER: You might offer him back to the owners first, although being pre-owned, they may not give you the best price.

They can, however, get involved and help redirect these unwanted alarms, or at least propose a more mutually acceptable timeline for them. Barring that, Miss Manners suggests that you get their permission to invest in a lock — and noise-canceling headphones.

Submit your etiquette questions to Miss Manners at dearmissmanners@gmail. com.