Women say special, unique things that men can never say. A man hears these things and realizes that he simply does not understand and that no one will ever be able to explain them to him.
For example, women say: "I can't walk in these shoes".
This remark alone can kill a night out. You've been for a meal or watched a show, and you fancy going on somewhere just down the street, or maybe it's time for a taxi and there's a rank only a few hundred yards away. So the man says: "Let's walk there, it's a fine night.". And the high-heeled, pinch-toed woman says: "No way, I can't walk in these shoes".
Now, to a man, the concepts of "shoes" and "walk" are inextricably linked. THey sort of go together, they are made for each other. If you are wearing shoes, you can walk. If you are going to walk, you wear shoes. The idea of buying and wearing a pair of shoes in which you cannot walk is as bizarre as, say, buying a raincot that can be worn onky indoors.

David Wilson, "This age we're living in".

Della fame non basta aver sentito parlare, non è sufficiente averla ascoltata con le orecchie: bisogna averla sentita con la pancia. Allora la distinzione fra l’indispensabile e il superfluo diventa chiarissima anche nella testa. Non è che chi ha provato la fame sia vaccinato dal consumismo, ma certamente, se ne ha voglia, dispone di alcune certezze indiscutibili sulle quali riflettere.

Federico Bozzini, "Cipolle e liberta'"