Reader disgusted by obviously pregnant belly

DEAR MISS MANNERS: Pregnant women nowadays appear to want everyone to know they are pregnant, and how far along they are, by wearing tight knit tops. Not only are their stomachs huge, but their belly buttons are pooched out.

I find this disgusting. I’m in my early 60s – am I too old-fashioned? I miss the days when women wore loose “maternity blouses.” One knew that the woman was pregnant, but we didn’t have to be reminded of what was going on under the maternity blouse.

GENTLE READER: What Miss Manners misses are the days when no one would have thought of staring a lady – pregnant or not – in the belly button. She does not miss the days when pregnant ladies were expected to dress as if they were wearing the nursery curtains.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: On a vacation in Paris, I stayed at a lovely furnished apartment. In the kitchen with all of the silverware was a set of round, perfectly flat “spoons” about the size of a teaspoon. There was a set of eight along with all of the other forks and spoons.

Although I have looked on the Internet, I cannot find these spoons and what they would be used for. Can you provide any insight as to their purpose?

GENTLE READER: But yes, as we say in France.

During your stay in Paris, Miss Manners supposes that you also noticed that the French are proud of their cuisine. Those flat spoons were the 20th-century invention of a French chef who didn’t want anyone to miss a drop of his superb sauce.

The sauce spoon is rarely seen in America, where some feel that a crust of bread will do just as well, and others have mastered the quick flick with the side of a fork. If you acquired such spoons, you will find that you amaze, and possibly delight, your guests.