Translating from One Idiom to Another

I want to be open to suggestion, but certain suggestions on what to wear tend to make me cranky.  Maybe it’s a communication thing.

You say: “Have you ever considered wearing foundation?”

I hear: “Your face is so ugly, why don’t you do us all a favor and cover it up?”

My husband used to suggest jeans and sweatshirt all the time . Then I would get frustrated, because shapeless sweatshirts, which were ubiquitous in those days, just don’t work with my type 8 figure.

What I did: I resolved to hear “sweater” every time he says “sweatshirt”. It works, since what he really means is “dress in layers”.  Now whenever someone makes a suggestion which doesn’t sit well with me, I discipline myself to think through to a translation from their idiom to mine.