tragedy queenn.
/ˈtradʒᵻdɪ ˌkwiːn/, U.S. /ˈtrædʒədi ˌkwin/ The character of a queen in a tragedy; (also) an actress who plays a queen in a tragedy. Also in extended use: a woman who acts in a grandiose, mournful, or self-pitying manner; cf. drama queen n. at drama n. Additions.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > pride > ostentation > spectacular, sensational, or dramatic display > [noun] > person
tragedy queen1715
theatricality1841
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > actor > [noun] > actress > types of
tragedy queen1715
soubrette1753
jeune première1817
comedienne1834
old woman1838
tragedienne1841
ingénue1848
sob sister1912
voice actress1974
1715 N. Hamilton Doating Lovers v. i. 65 She's gone, and in a Strain as heroic as a dying Tragedy-Queen.
1755 C. Charke Narr. Life 192 Though it was a valuable Gift, but more proper to ornament the Neck of a Country-Housewife, than a Tragedy-Queen.
1848 W. M. Thackeray Vanity Fair xlvi. 414 She bowed me out of the room like a tragedy Queen.
1872 ‘G. Eliot’ Middlemarch (1874) vi. liv. 397 Think what a bore you might become yourself to your fellow-creatures if you were always playing tragedy queen and taking things sublimely.
1929 E. A. Powell Last Home Myst. vi. 123 A strikingly beautiful brunette, statuesque, with flashing black eyes, a sullen mouth, and great masses of raven hair—a regular tragedy queen.
1993 Guardian (Nexis) 13 July (Home section) 1 There is something distorted about the way the musical turns the character from a barbarous victim of changing taste into an heroic tragedy-queen.
2012 Times of India (Nexis) 1 Aug. If the grief is overwhelming, it's okay to wallow in self-pity... See sad films and listen to sad music and in general, be the tragedy queen!
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2014; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1715