はしをつける

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Mrs. Yamada: Anata, nan' ka kangaegoto desu ka. Yuushoku ni hashi mo tsuke-nai de...
Mr. Yamada: Un. Nan' ka konogoro shokuyoku ga nakute ne. Taberu ki ga okinain' da.
Mrs. Yamada: Sore wa shimpai da wa. Ichido byooin ni itte, mite morattara doo ka shira.

* * *

"Touching" one's food
Mrs. Yamada: Is there anything on your mind? You haven't even touched your dinner.
Mr. Yamada: I know. It's just that I don't seem to have any appetite these days. I never feel like eating at all.
Mrs. Yamada: Well I'm worried. Why don't you go along to the hospital for a checkup?

* * *

These days, more and more Japanese families are using knives and forks, rather than chopsticks. There is even something called a "saki-ware supoon" (a cross betwen a spoon and a fork) in use in elementary schools which means that some Japanese children cannot handle chopsticks at all. This is bound to create problems. It goes without saying that Japanese food is best eaten with chopsticks.
"Hashi wo tsukeru" (literally, "to apply the chopsticks") means "to begin eating" or "to touch one's food." The negative "Hashi mo tsukenai" is more often used and means "to leave one's food untouched" (through lack of appetite, worry, etc.)