Mild flirting vs lechery

[Nearenough]

I told a female friend of mine aboiut what I think was an innocuous compliment (maybe even a joke I guess)...Essentially a man, mid 40s probably and apparently single, recently moved into the very small road where i live. Its a nightmare for parking and not many new people move in, plus we have small first gardens, so a few neighbours have passed the time of day wirh him, he seems perfectly pleasant. So recently, one of the female neighbours (for context, she is 50sthg, we are all mid 30s to mid 50s) was talking to him.about some work on his garden. He said in what I imagine was a lighthearted and perhaps mildly flirtatious manner he couldn't concentrate on gardening as "there were so many stunning looking women on the road". My neighbour told us about it, she wasn't offended, if anytbing the opposite.
I mentioned this in passing to a friend who doesn't know him, she was all "oh, he sounds like a lech..be careful etc". I didn't want ro wind her up further so I didn't say anything, but it didn't sound like lechery to me...

I mean, if it's a direct quote, it's cringe. It's not lecherous though.

That comment would make me think ‘ewww’ and assume the man was a bit of a creep

Disgusting. I'd start getting your ducks in a row.

It depends how it was said really, but I had real problems with a man at work that started with comments like that. Just keep an eye on it, it might be something or nothing.

Not lechy, I would roll my eyes to the moon on hearing something like that though 🥱

For my own part, I would give more credence to the opinion of the person who was actually there.

I didn't want ro wind her up further

I've already got more red flags about your friend than about this man.

Depends on the person and how it was said but it's a bit of an odd and creepy thing to say IMO - I mean do you know any nice middle aged men who go round calling women 'stunning' and blaming them for distracting them from what their doing? I don't.

Yep

I guess it being told and then re-told might’ve made your friend think it was a bigger deal than it was, if you see what I mean. Like if someone said that to me directly, I’d find it quite cringey, but I wouldn’t necessarily think the guy was a lech (just a bit embarrassingly bad at flirting) but if it was told to me second hand I might think it must’ve been a bit pervy for it to be noteworthy.

He could have thought it but didn’t need to say it.

Eh, get your ducks in a row because of a new fella in the neighbourhood with crass comments/ chat up lines?

Creepy.

"Hostas are easy to manage, but they do attract slugs. Planning a garden's always a bit of a balancing act ..."

"I can't concentrate on gardening with so much totty around!"

Way to redirect an everyday chat to the fascinating topic of your hard-on.

I mean, he might as well have announced that he's not gardening, just hanging outside waiting for a hot neighbour to make his willy twitch.

He's a creep but thinks he's being charming and (probably) irresistible. Is he single?

For what?

Oh comments like that are just a pure embarrassment.
He obviously thinks women are totally stupid and desperate if he thinks comments like that are compliments.

I would be civil to the guy but I wouldn't want to engage in any sort of conversation with him or want to get to know him.