The pinky swear was adopted as a substitute handshake by tea-obsessed businessmen who refused to put down their cups to seal a deal. Keep your grip strong with today's Groupon: for $35, you get an afternoon tea experience for two at Lockwood Restaurant at the Palmer House Hilton (a $70 value). Afternoon tea includes the following:

• A choice of a variety of teas
• Tea sandwiches
• Scones
• Petit fours
  
  

Nestled within the legendary Palmer House Hilton, Lockwood Restaurant fetes diners with refined fare and conscientious service. Marble walls and gilded accents immerse diners in timeless elegance, and the dining space boasts ceilings high enough to show gratitude to a server by forming a cheerleading pyramid. Varieties of black, green, and herbal teas grapple for attention with a noble collection of tea-sandwich royalty, such as cage-free egg salad and scallions atop a vessel of pumpernickel rye or poached chicken governing a round table of fresh tarragon, jona apples, and a sugar-cube-juggling court jester. Sweet scones infused with caramel apples or blueberries are slathered with devonshire cream or blackberry preserves, similar to the method of preparing controversial rock stars for a photoshoot. A selection of petit fours, such as raspberry panna cotta or the strawberry-citrus tart, sends happy mouths into the evening complimenting passersby as hands give taxi drivers affectionate noogies.