How do you position your hands at the table?

You don't put your hands on your knees as is the tradition in England (where the knights stayed near their swords)
You don't put your elbows on the table either, except for a particular posture that brings the hands towards the face when the body tilts forward so that the face also moves towards them.

But then, where do we put them to stay polite?

We keep our hands flat on either side of her plate and we patiently endure the moment of latency before the hostess finally raises her fork.