Start with what the two words actually show: a woman who has lived a long time. English then keeps borrowing that figure and using her as a shorthand. Put a in front — 'my old woman' — and the figure becomes the woman at the centre of your own house, wife or mother, whatever her age. Throw the words at a man instead, and the same figure is being used as a stereotype, as if minding small details were something belonging to her. So the picture stays still while the job of the phrase moves: description, then family shorthand, then insult. The situation, and the little word in front, are what tell you which one you are reading.
先看這兩個字本來畫出來的東西：一位活了很久的女性。英文接著一再借用這個身影，把她當成簡寫在用。前面加一個所有格，變成 my old woman，指的就成了自己家裡那位——太太或媽媽，跟年紀沒關係。同樣兩個字丟到一個男人身上，用的則是一個刻板印象：好像「計較小事」是屬於老太太的。所以畫面沒有動，動的是這個詞在句子裡做的事：先是描述，再是家裡人的簡稱，最後變成罵人。要分辨，看情境，也看前面那個小字。
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