This afternoon I sat at a table with a nice retired couple and discussed the possibility of adding new diamonds to a ring. I said there was no problem reinserting the missing stones and responded in the negative when the man asked if it was glued. Without going into details, I explained that the stones are "set."

Man: "And how do you do that fiddling? Do you have a big magnifying glass or a microscope?"
His wife kindly but firmly interrupted him, "Working is called that. Yes, when a man looks through a microscope it's called working and when a woman does it it's fidgeting!"

I have long since ceased to look up from such language, no matter how kindly intended. Still, I smiled almost gratefully when the lady spoke up for our sex.