Came across this:
The woman had appalled Mr. Martin instantly, but he hadn't shown it. He had given her his dry hand, a look of studious concentration, and a faint smile. "Well," she had said, looking at the papers on his desk, "are you lifting the oxcart out of the ditch?" As Mr. Martin recalled that moment, over his milk, he squirmed slightly.
Extracted from: The Catbird Seat by James Thurber
Does over his milk imply "while he was drinking his milk"?
In addition, Is are you lifting the oxcart out of the ditch? an offensive statement? What does it imply? I already think it implies someone pretends to do an important job while the job is not that important or When someone is trying to do something very difficult.
Best Answer
Thanks for supplying the context. You're correct in your understanding of "over his milk".
The oxcart question is not offensive in itself, though it is colloquial and hence sounds a bit silly.
The key sentence in the larger context you provide is "She had, for almost two years now, baited him. In the halls, in the elevator, even in his own office, into which she romped now and then like a circus horse, she was constantly shouting these silly questions at him."
To bait someone is to deliberately taunt or annoy them, hoping to get a response from them. (Analogous to offering bait to a fish in the hope that it would bite.) She behaves extravagantly ("like a circus horse"), she shouts out rhetorical questions that are both colloquial and hackneyed, and ultimately she is always asking the same question that assumes things are going badly. She's negative, imposing, and annoying.
At least that's my take on it, based on a few paragraphs. I have to admit that I've never read that classic story before.