complain queen
- noun
- Informal
:
quejica
- My sister is a total complain queen at family gatherings.
Examples
-
After waiting five minutes, the complain queen demanded to see the manager.
-
During the meeting, everyone began to notice that Emily had become the office complain queen, always voicing her discontent about every little issue.
-
He's tired of being labeled a complain queen just for speaking up.
-
Sarah knows she can be a complain queen about slow service.
-
Don't be such a complain queen!
-
At school, Rachel is often called the complain queen because she is always unhappy with the lunch choices.
-
When her friends decided on a movie, Lisa, the complain queen, quickly pointed out what she disliked about their choice.
Synonyms
23
4.3
A person who complains a lot about small things in an annoying way
11
2.8
A person who often says they are unhappy about things
10
6.7
A person who complains often in an annoying way
2
9.9
An old word for a person, often a woman, who always complains and finds fault
1
8.8
A person who often complains about small, not important things
1
5.5
A person who complains a lot about small things
1
9.9
A person who often complains about small things
1
5.3
A person who often complains about small things
1
8.4
A person who often complains about many things
1
8.4
A person who complains a lot about small things
1
9.9
A person who often whines and complains in an annoying way
1
8.4
A person who complains a lot about small things
1
9.1
A person who often complains in an annoying way
1
6.5
A person who often complains about small, unimportant things
A person who often says they are unhappy and finds fault with many small things
A person who often complains about small, unimportant things
A person who complains a lot, often about small things
A person who keeps complaining or criticizing in an annoying way
A person who is unkind and complains about small things a lot
How Complaining
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is compositionally built from 'complain' (to voice displeasure) and 'queen' (a person preeminent in a domain), so a learner who knows both words can infer it refers to someone notably given to complaining. Although informal/slangy, the formation is transparent and predictable from the constituents, so a B1 learner would likely understand it.
Etymology
Complain queen comes from the image of a woman wearing a crown who seems to be the top of complaining. The part complain shows what she does and queen shows she is the leader at it, so it means 'a woman who often complains'.