elbows on table
Mealtime posture breach
Elbows on table is a breach of traditional Western table manners, where resting your elbows on the table while eating is considered impolite.
The rule relaxes between courses or in casual settings: No elbows on the table—we have guests.
Parents invoke it as a basic marker of proper behavior at meals.
- rudeOffensively ill-mannered
- bad mannersSocially unacceptable behavior
- mannersCustoms of polite conduct
- etiquetteRules of polite conduct
- leaningTendency toward something
proper etiquette · lean in · slouching · dining · posture · informal · comfortable · propped · resting · chin · hands · bored · casual · relaxed · impolite · grandmother · scolding · sit up straight
- pet peevesannoyance, loud chewing, irritation, loud talking, frustration
- taboostaboo, incest, cannibalism, bestiality, necrophilia
posture formality
elbows on tableproper posture
Correct body alignment
upright posture · hands folded · ramrod straight · stiff posture · military bearing
elbow, elbowed, elbowing, table, tables, tabled, tabling, tabular, tabulate