Licking fingers instead of using a napkin is totally disgusting. Noisy, slurpy.... The thing that's so gross about my hubby doing it is, he never washes his hands before eating. I've seen him come home from the casino, where he has touched numerous slot machines, etc. Then he eats and licks his fingers. So gross! I pointed out to him that when he does that, he is literally licking the surface of every machine he touched in the casino. So gross. He lacks the basic respectful table manners that I was taught at a very young age. When he does it in public, I feel like crawling under the table.

Another wife policing her husband. I shouldn't be surprised on this site.

What kind of finger-licking are we talking about here? Because after Doritos or fried chicken, the best bits are on the fingers, and damn straight I'm gonna lick them.

I have some bad habits that I don't even sometimes realize I'm doing until my husband says "why do you do that? its gross". And then I start noticing when I do it and am able to change the behavior. Next time he does it just hand him a napkin, maybe he doesn't realize he's doing it?

Anonymous wrote:I think it's absolutely disgusting and you are right to try to get him to realize that this is a bad habit. I'd say to him what I say to my DH when he talks with his mouthful or leans his forearm on the table while he eats, "Do you eat this way when you are out dining with colleagues? Is this the impression you want to give with fellow business people?" If he says, "Well, I don't do it THENNNNN. . ." Then I say, "Good, then don't do it here either."

Uh, she will be speaking with her husband, not her five year old.

Instead of telling him what to do, or telling him he is disgusting and that he SHOULD change, why don't you ask? And make a deal. You'll stop one thing he finds maddening.

Better that he lick his fingers than somebody else's pussy!

I would have a hard time eating with someone who did that. It is pretty basic.

MIL belches -NO BURPS- with her mouth open and does not say excuse me; she also delights in picking her teeth at the table. This was a hint that I should be grateful that my DH *only* licks his fingers.

Some people try to freak others out on purpose. That is when I choose to let it go.

It ought to be easy ought to be simple enough
Man meets woman and they fall in love
But the house is haunted and the ride gets rough
And youve got to learn to live with what you can't rise above if you want to ride on down in through this tunnel of love
-Bruce Springsteen
...

My DH has horrible table manners. Horrible. He has told me that manners were never once discussed in his house (and frankly the ILs are proof of that). I do not take him to work functions, it is that bad.

That said, I won't divorce him over it.

From Dan Savage:

The Price of Admission! Which is, you have to identify the things about your partner that annoy you, that you can’t change but are worth getting over because the rest of the package is wonderful. And then you stop bitching about those things. You say, “This is the price of admission. I’m going to pay this price to ride this ride.” And you don’t go off on it over and over and over again. You suck it up. And be aware that your partner is also sucking it up. Price of Admission — that’s a big one!

If you want a referendum on the habit, you can get one. It's not a nice habit.

However, I can guarantee you that any husband will have a habit like this...something that will drive you into a frenzy of disgust by Year Two of marriage. What's the point, then? Accept it.

Let it go. You probably knew this prior to marriage but the lust hormones made you look the other way. There's probably a general discontent in your marriage and you're taking it out on things like this.

Tell him you're afraid this habit is going to make him sick because it's a great way to transfer bacteria and viruses, especially with the flu bug going around.

Men marry women thinking they will never change.
Women marry men thinking they will.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Picking at harmless things like that will destroy your marriage.

These things turn my stomach to the point that I need to leave the room. We rarely go out to eat due to these poor eating habits.

Hardly harmless.

Did he do this before you gotmarried? If yes you need to just deal - you made your bed. I never understand why women expect men to turn into someone else once they get married.