I am totally flumoxed

I was down the street earlier today and in one of the shops I entered there was a group of members of the opposite gender (you will understand why I use that term shortly) blocking the passage way, so a said in my best gentlemanly manner 'scuse me ladies".

Apparently they were offended that I used the term ladies. :? My mother taught me to always be polite to members of the opposite gender.

How should I have addressed these 'people' should I have perhaps referred to them as scrags or trollops, but by doing that I would have been embarrassed.

What should I say next time there is a (I don't know what the collective noun would be for what looks like a mothers meeting) group these members of the opposite gender :?:?:?:?

I've only known a couple of Ladies in Australia (one of them, a former customer and quite the most delightful woman you could meet, is now, sadly deceased).

'Lady' and 'ladies' have been adopted by those who often least deserve the title... slags and women of the night. There are 'girls' and 'women' in my parlance and if I was a woman and someone addressed me as a 'lady', I'd take exception to it because of the modern connotation.

Which street were you in and in which suburb?

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Originally Posted by Woodwould

I've only known a couple of Ladies in Australia (one of them, a former customer and quite the most delightful woman you could meet, is now, sadly deceased).

'Lady' and 'ladies' have been adopted by those who often least deserve the title... slags and women of the night. There are 'girls' and 'women' in my parlance and if I was a woman and someone addressed me as a 'lady', I'd take exception to it because of the modern connotation.

Which street were you in and in which suburb?

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So should I have said 'scuse me girls'?

i was in the Discount Chemist at Glen Waverley.

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Originally Posted by Phil Spencer

So should I have said 'scuse me girls'?

i was in the Discount Chemist at Glen Waverley.

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OK, so not St. Kilda then.

I don't know; I would probably omit the gender address and just say "Excuse me please".

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Woodwould

I've only known a couple of Ladies in Australia (one of them, a former customer and quite the most delightful woman you could meet, is now, sadly deceased).

'Lady' and 'ladies' have been adopted by those who often least deserve the title... slags and women of the night. There are 'girls' and 'women' in my parlance and if I was a woman and someone addressed me as a 'lady', I'd take exception to it because of the modern connotation.

Which street were you in and in which suburb?

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WW I need to mine your vast intellect, what would be the collective noun for a group of people belonging to the opposite gender group? :?

Girls, blades, wenches, women, ladies, lesbians and slags, depending on their age, social status, predilections and vocations. Or perhaps a battery of women? A gossip of women? A thumbprint of women? Petitioners? The list is endless.

"Excuse me harridans"
should do it.
SG

My wife gets extremely annoyed when we walk into a shop and the sales person
says "Hi Guys". :~:~

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Originally Posted by Scribbly Gum

"Excuse me harridans"

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You smooth talker you!

Shameless hussies would get a reaction.
Cheers,
Jim
ps guys is the next best thing to a laxative.

In retrospect I think they may have been menopausal. I can say that because my initials are PMS

"Hi guys, what can I do for today/" I grimmis through clenched teeth!
OR when a girl/woman calls me "mate" I don't like that either. I don't mind that from a bloke, but not from a woman (not even my wife)
Another thing that gets under my skin is when a sales person says "I haven't got any of.......today". Its not theirs, it belongs to the company's owner!!! They are only helping you to buy the article.
I am getting to be a grumpy old man
I must be getting old because I am experiencing being transparent more and more.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by chambezio

"Hi guys, what can I do for today/" I grimmis through clenched teeth!
OR when a girl/woman calls me "mate" I don't like that either. I don't mind that from a bloke, but not from a woman (not even my wife)
Another thing that gets under my skin is when a sales person says "I haven't got any of.......today". Its not theirs, it belongs to the company's owner!!! They are only helping you to buy the article.
I am getting to be a grumpy old man
I must be getting old because I am experiencing being transparent more and more.

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What about when they call you LUV or DARL :((

I rarely get that from my wife. But from somebody else.....no likey

But on the upside if somebody calls me "young fella"....I am putty in their hands

Had a Trollop kept calling me LUV and Darl once, so I asked if she wanted to sleep with me, coped a triad of abuse back to this day I don't know why. :-