Dinner cost commentary unnecessary

Dear Miss Manners: I was a guest at a small dinner party where the host offered continuous commentary about the cost of the meal. Each time someone took a handful of unusual imported almonds, he said, “You wouldn’t believe what we paid for those!”

When we expressed enjoyment of the organic chicken dish, he said, “It ought to be good; it certainly wasn’t cheap!”

A close friend of the host ventured to say, “How much do you suppose you paid per nut?” Lacking that familiarity, I was at a loss as to how to respond.

Gentle Reader: Miss Manners suggests putting down your fork or your handful of nuts and saying, “I feel unworthy.”