Finish all the food on your plate!

Finish all the food on your plate, ordered Marash Girl's father.  "You don't know what it's like to go hungry!" he exclaimed.  In fact, if she, as early back as she can remember, left any food on her plate, she would have to eat it cold at supper, and if she didn't finish it then, she had to eat it cold for breakfast.  She learned quickly to finish all that was on her plate. .  . to the point where her friend asked her, many a year later, why Marash Girl was "cleaning her plate" of every bit of food.  Marash Girl stopped to ponder that for a bit, and then explained.  Her friend pointed out that it was only polite to leave a bit of something on your plate -- to show that you were not a "starving Armenian"!  Or to show, at least, that you were not food deprived.  The opposite in the Armenian culture -- finish it all to show that it was delicious, and that you appreciated the effort that your hostess, your mother, or the cook --  take your pick -- had made on your behalf.