Madam, – I am becoming uneasy about the use of the term “handbags” in our everyday language.
This week, on radio, a European commentator used the phrase “dancing around the handbags on the floor” when he was describing a discussion that was trivial.
Sports commentators use it to describe a “trivial” fight between male sportsmen on the pitch: “It is only handbags”. I am not sure what phrase they use for female sportspeople having a trivial fight – “briefcases”, perhaps? Only women use handbags. Are women trivial? – Yours, etc,