more complicated than that

[jasonlulu_2000]

Sir, I was halfway through Professor Raj Persaud’s article “What’s the tipping point" (Financial Times Weekend, April 9-l0) when it occurred to me that what I was reading was not ironic. If Prof Persaud wants to know why Americans tip in restaurants, he need only ask the first American he meets in London.

Americans tip in restarts for one reason, and one reason only: we tip to supplement the salary of restaurant workers. Quality of service does not enter into it, beyond the fact that one may tip a bit less for poor service, or a little more for good service.

Not tipping at all in a non-fast-food restaurant is not a choice. In the US, one used to tip about 15 per cent for dining in a family-style restaurant or in an up-market restaurant. Here, in San Francisco Baily: 'Times Ney area restaurants, we me encouraged to tip 20 per cent or more, to help restart workers live in this very expensive area.

After eating at an Italian restart in my city, I left a tip of 20 per cent on the non-tax part of our dinner bill. It was expected. There is nothing more complicated than that about Americas tipping in restaurants.

Ward Hoffman,

Palo Alto, CA 94306, US


Here is my question:
There is nobody better than Jack, which means Jack is the best.

Likewise, the underlined sentence should mean American tipping is the most complicated.

But the context suggests tipping is not complicated in America.

How can I understand the pattern "there is nothing more ...than"?

thanks

 

[Barb_D]

That = leaving 20% of the non-tax part of your dinner bill.

There is nothing more complicated within the realm of tipping than leaving 20% on the non-tax portion of the dinner bill.

If you can understand that you leave 20% of your bill, you have understood the most complicated part of American tipping. Nothing about tipping is more compliated than leaving 20%.

 

[jasonlulu_2000]

Nothing about tipping is more complicated than leaving 20%. In other words, leaving 20% is the most complicated part of American tipping. Does the author use sarcasm or exaggeration? I don't think it complicated at all. Just regard it as a common practice to pay 20% of your bill.

 

[Barb_D]

I don't see it as sarcasm or exaggeration.

Perhaps some people see tipping as complicated. I don't know.

The author is simply saying that tipping no more complicated than being able to multiply your dinner bill by .20.

 

[Fizi]

The sentence you point out does appear to conflict with the rest of the post. Normally, "There is nothing more complicated than x..." means that x is the most complicated. But, as you note, the poster is speaking about American tipping habits as if they are easy to understand. In this case, I believe the writer has simply chosen his or her words improperly. The writer probably intended to say something like "Tipping in American restaurants is no more complicated than that."

 

[Barb_D]

And you feel what he DID say was significantly different from that?

 

[SoothingDave]

Th​

ere is nothing more complicated than that

The writer did not err. There is nothing more complicated than that, not "there is nothing more complicated than tipping." What is "that?" Leaving 20%.

Nothing is more complicated about tipping in America than calculating a percentage.