It's not a word that's often used to offend women, but it can be offensive to men. 'Queen' is the title of the highest member of female royalty in the land - but the word has also been used as a powerful insult to women in years gone by. Susie Dent is a resident of CountDown's Dictionary Corner, and she also studies the origins of words at Oxford University Press.
Susie Dent takes Lizz Pearson to the headquarters of OUP to look into the way in which the word has changed - and what makes its use as an insult unusual. |
