There's a bloke who works in the local park where I walk my dog. I see him most mornings. He's a nice enough bloke but sometimes come out with things that are a bit sexist that I'm slow with a come back. There are two reasons - firstly that I'm knackered first thing in the morning walking the dog and second because I was brought up to be polite, nice and ladylike which is still haunting me at the age of 40.
Example... I've been having my house renovated since February. He knows this. The other day I said I was getting impatient for it all to end now. He said, "I bet you're always on at your husband aren't you?" I said "No of course not" but after I got home I was kicking myself for not being more forthright.
Another example... we were chatting about pubs opening. I said I don't really go to the pub much. He said "But when you do I bet you get sozzled on spritzers" or something like that. I said "No, I don't really drink". He said "Yeah right". It pissed me off that I wasn't quicker to come back.
I know this all sounds very innocuous and first-world-problems but it pisses me off that (a) he makes remarks that he absolutely wouldn't make to a man, (b) he makes huge assumptions which he wouldn't make about a man, and (c) that I'm too slow with come backs that'd shut him up.
Grrr.
I need some stock phrases, MN, to shut him up and stop me being such a polite lady 