I don't really understand what 'as well they might have done' means here:
'They would rather touch their mouths with their little forked instruments than with their fingers', wrote Thomas Artus, who claimed that they looked especially silly as they strove to capture the peas and broad beans on their plates - as well they might have done, since early forks had long, widely separate prongs and scooping with them must have been impossible.
Is it the same as 'they might as well have', meaning that even if they had been able to 'capture' the peas and beans with their forks, it would've been sort of useless since forks only had two prongs and therefore the food would probably slip anyway?
If that's not it, then I'm open to suggestions
'They would rather touch their mouths with their little forked instruments than with their fingers', wrote Thomas Artus, who claimed that they looked especially silly as they strove to capture the peas and broad beans on their plates - as well they might have done, since early forks had long, widely separate prongs and scooping with them must have been impossible.
Is it the same as 'they might as well have', meaning that even if they had been able to 'capture' the peas and beans with their forks, it would've been sort of useless since forks only had two prongs and therefore the food would probably slip anyway?
If that's not it, then I'm open to suggestions