As a hostess, I really should have used it somewhere in this case. In my defense, I was caught terribly off guard, and half my attention was focused on a fairly complicated beading project.
This was another armoring/craft workshop that one of our medieval groups was having at our house. A couple of new guys who my husband was helping make their armor had come inside for a break and some food, and came over to sit at the table where me and another new family were alternately beading and eating.
Everybody was talking for awhile about what projects they'd completed that day, and me and two of the ladies showed off the jewelry we'd been making.
Then completely out of the blue one of the new guys pipes up with "Me and my household all practice *alternative lifestyle*"
New lady who arrived with them: *looks embarassed* "Except for me".
Me : *takes bite of sandwich, fiddles with beading project* "Um ok"
In retrospect I guess that is where I should have bean dipped, I think I was afraid of seeming judgemental or something.
Conversation goes back to beading and projects for awhile, til New Guy starts up again.
"Do you know what *alternative lifestyle* means?"
Me: *shrug, look up from project* "Yeah, a relative of mine practices that" Another chance where I should have bean dipped.
New guy: "I have a harem of four women"
Finally I managed at that point to make some silly joke and change the subject, which New Guy rolls his eyes at.
I feel like I made a pretty big screw up of handling this one as a hostess, having read all about bean dipping and then not being able to actually follow through. I do feel that New Guy was almost pushing for a confrontation or being shocking or something, my impression was that he seemed to keep escalating looking for a response.
