DEAR MISS MANNERS: Please tell me the right way to eat oysters.

GENTLE READER: Don’t believe those who advise you to swallow them whole. That is, unless you want your coworkers to grab you from behind or stand around and desperately try to remember what they were taught in first aid class.

Slippery as they are (the oysters, not your guests), they can be pierced with that little fork Miss Manners thinks you got. Very large oysters can even be cut in half with the edge of this fork, but not easily. And no, you can’t use the shell as a spoon except on very informal occasions.

(Please send your questions to Miss Manners on her website, www.missmanners.com; to his email, [email protected]; or by postal mail to Miss Manners, Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.)