dragon lady

noun

1. (often initial capital letters) a woman of somewhat sinister glamour often perceived as wielding ruthless or corrupt power.

Word History and Origins

Origin of dragon lady¹

So called after the villainous Asian woman in the cartoon strip Terry and the Pirates (1934–1973) created by U.S. cartoonist Milton Caniff (1907–88)

Idioms and Phrases

A domineering or belligerent woman, as in They called her the neighborhood dragon lady—she was always yelling at the children . This slangy term was originally the name of a villainous Asian woman in Milton Caniff's popular cartoon strip Terry and the Pirates (1934–1973), which ran in many newspapers. It was transferred to more general use in the mid-1900s.

Example Sentences

She recalls the office as being “super glamorous, with colors and jewelry and scented candles,” and then “all of a sudden this dragon lady comes in, hair black, black, black, and red lipstick and red nails and a big cigarette holder.”

From Los Angeles Times

Three generations of women are assembled in Sara Porkalob’s “Dragon Lady,” the first in her three-part series of musicals about what she refers to as her “Filipina American gangster family.”

From Los Angeles Times

“Dragon Lady” moves back in time from the state of Washington to the Philippines, where we find Maria Sr. as a young girl, trying to survive the brutal murder of her father by a notorious gang.

From Los Angeles Times

The story of her fight to keep her first daughter, whom she names Maria Elena, after herself, “her bittersweet joy,” represents the climax of the first half of “Dragon Lady.”

From Los Angeles Times

The second half of “Dragon Lady” tells baby Maria’s side of the story.

From Los Angeles Times