Which leads back to a question raised by an earlier post, but I was hesitant to ask. I'll preface this with an acknowledgment that things may be (are?) different on opposite sides of the Pond but...

Let us say that, in the U.S., I have a business acquaintance. I know him on a first-name basis on the phone, and see him two or three times a year at trade shows, seminars, etc. By dumb luck, I stumble on a press release identifying him as Dr. <Name>. The next time I talk to him, I say "I didn't know you had a doctorate. Where did you go to school and what is the degree in?" Over here, he'd probably say "Oh, I did grad work at XYZ Tech and the degree's in PDQ Engineering" or something similar.

My question, then, is that if I make a similar discovery for a UK business associate (again, first name basis & some regular contact), why is it considered poor form to say, "Gee, I didn't know you had appeared on the Honours List. What can you tell me about that?"

Even with due modesty, I would expect a reasonable answer..."Oh, it was for my work with XYZ Charity," or "raising funds for the opera house in Lower Begonia" or similar, and maybe the conversation would continue over a beer.

Or perhaps not. Would I just be a rude Yank for asking a reasonable question?

Opinions?