'The Norwegian Elbow'

It's a phrase I've coined for a particular phenomenon that I think is an apt metaphor for the country's psyche-

Instead of asking the person sitting next to you at the dinner table to send the salt (for example), you just lean over them to grab it yourself. You inevitably end up sticking your elbow in their face, meaning they then have to stop eating and learn back to give you clearance.

The reasoning is; you don't want to disturb the person by asking for the salt, so you just do it yourself. The irony being, of course, that you cause more disturbance to their meal than if you'd just asked them to pass the fucking salt to begin with.

This observation comes from a half Norwegian, half Australian, who's grown up and lived in both countries, and who is perpetually amused by the subtle differences in etiquette.