**ETIQUETTE**
*From the outside in*
There should never be any question of which silver to use: You always start with the implement of each type that is the farthest from the plate. This question arises again and again, and the answer is always the same, with one exception. If the table is incorrectly set, and you realize that you cannot use the implement for the course that its position indicates, you must, of course, choose the next one that is appropriate. For example, if the small shellfish fork has been put nest to the plate, you should not use the dinner fork for the shrimp cocktail and leave the little fork for the roast beef, even though they were placed in that order. Otherwise, you assume that the table is correctly set, and starting at the outside, you work your way with each course toward the center.
When you have finished the main course the knife and fork are placed beside each other on the dinner plate diagonally from the upper left to lower right. The handles extend slightly over the edge of the plate.
The dessert spoon or fork is placed in the same position. If the dessert spoon is put down on the plate when you are finished. If the bowl is shallow and wide, the spoon may be left in it, or on the plate below it, as you wish.