# Age at which a women can be called old crone? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 10, 2010, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/age-at-which-a-women-can-be-called-old-crone/542639 "2010-06-10T11:42:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/age-at-which-a-women-can-be-called-old-crone/542639/1 "2010-06-10T11:42:07Z")
At what age does an ugly lady become an old crone? ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/age-at-which-a-women-can-be-called-old-crone/542639/2 "2010-06-10T11:57:31Z")
You need an “other” (yeah, I didn’t want to be one of those poll-basher types) but I’ve known twenty-something shrews and 60-something “teenagers”. It’s all about how you carry it. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/age-at-which-a-women-can-be-called-old-crone/542639/3 "2010-06-10T12:12:33Z")
About the same age you’d call a man an old coot. ---
**Author:** ![Staggerlee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/staggerlee/32/3134_2.png) [@Staggerlee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Staggerlee)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/age-at-which-a-women-can-be-called-old-crone/542639/4 "2010-06-10T12:21:32Z")
The age at which she moves to Putney. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/age-at-which-a-women-can-be-called-old-crone/542639/5 "2010-06-10T12:23:48Z")
“A women”, never. As for “a woman”, at any age but not where she can hear you 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/age-at-which-a-women-can-be-called-old-crone/542639/6 "2010-06-10T12:26:36Z")
Why I didn’t cast a vote in this poll: I don’t like your use of it as a pejorative. In Witchcraft communities, it’s a very positive term for a mature woman who is looked up to as a senior Witch and wise woman. The male equivalent, for a mature man, is sage. The epithet of ugly was uncalled for. A mature woman can still be hot, you know, and I’ve known plenty of attractive Crones. Once I became a grandmother (at age 45), the Crone leader in my community said I’d qualify for a croning ceremony. Some Witches have made up a backronym for it: Creative Researcher Of New Experiences. The Crone is a name for one aspect of the Triple Goddess in Pagan communities. The Triple Goddess is Maiden, Mother, and Crone. The concept is generally post-menopausal. So if I were to vote for the meaning of Crone, it would be a post-menopausal woman. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/age-at-which-a-women-can-be-called-old-crone/542639/7 "2010-06-10T12:30:54Z")
Just because an ugly woman can become a crone doesn’t mean a hot one can’t. This is a thread about ugly crones. Perhaps we should have another on hot ones. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/age-at-which-a-women-can-be-called-old-crone/542639/8 "2010-06-10T12:34:19Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > Why I didn’t cast a vote in this poll: > > I don’t like your use of it as a pejorative. In Witchcraft communities, it’s a very positive term for a mature woman who is looked up to as a senior Witch and wise woman. The male equivalent, for a mature man, is sage. The epithet of ugly was uncalled for. A mature woman can still be hot, you know, and I’ve known plenty of attractive Crones. Once I became a grandmother (at age 45), the Crone leader in my community said I’d qualify for a croning ceremony. Some Witches have made up a backronym for it: Creative Researcher Of New Experiences. The Crone is a name for one aspect of the Triple Goddess in Pagan communities. The Triple Goddess is Maiden, Mother, and Crone. The concept is generally post-menopausal. So if I were to vote for the meaning of Crone, it would be a post-menopausal woman. Whatever!:rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/age-at-which-a-women-can-be-called-old-crone/542639/9 "2010-06-10T12:45:13Z")
> [@Harmonious\_Discord](#): > > Whatever!:rolleyes: You asked for people’s opinions and you got one. :rolleyes: yourself. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/age-at-which-a-women-can-be-called-old-crone/542639/10 "2010-06-10T12:46:01Z")
I’ve seen it claimed that “crone” is supposed to refer to a post-menopausal woman, and not be pejorative (in its original use) nor even originally used in the Wiccan sense **Johanna** refers to above. I don’t know if it’s true or not. But outside a Wiccan bunch, if you call a woman a crone you’re just asking for a punch. ---
**Author:** ![Chicken\_Fingers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Chicken\_Fingers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chicken_Fingers)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/age-at-which-a-women-can-be-called-old-crone/542639/11 "2010-06-10T13:44:54Z")
A crone is any woman, ugly or beautiful, who is past menopause and getting older and withered. Outside of certain communities that seek to make crone a positive term, it’s now generally used as a sexist and insulting term. If one is planning on calling a woman an old crone, it’s best to ascertain how withered and useless to men, and hence all society, she really is. (Likewise, when planning to call people by a racist epithet, to avoid embarrassment, check first to see if they technically have the proper ancestry.) ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/age-at-which-a-women-can-be-called-old-crone/542639/12 "2010-06-10T19:49:22Z")
I don’t care about religions. Start a new thread to discuss religions, be it satanism or Peter Pan is a god. This is all about the term as an insult. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Poster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Happy\_Poster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Poster)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/age-at-which-a-women-can-be-called-old-crone/542639/13 "2010-06-10T19:50:50Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > Why I didn’t cast a vote in this poll: > > I don’t like your use of it as a pejorative. In Witchcraft communities, it’s a very positive term for a mature woman who is looked up to as a senior Witch and wise woman. The male equivalent, for a mature man, is sage. The epithet of ugly was uncalled for. A mature woman can still be hot, you know, and I’ve known plenty of attractive Crones. Once I became a grandmother (at age 45), the Crone leader in my community said I’d qualify for a croning ceremony. Some Witches have made up a backronym for it: Creative Researcher Of New Experiences. The Crone is a name for one aspect of the Triple Goddess in Pagan communities. The Triple Goddess is Maiden, Mother, and Crone. The concept is generally post-menopausal. So if I were to vote for the meaning of Crone, it would be a post-menopausal woman. bwahahahahahahahahhahahahahahah ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Poster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Happy\_Poster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Poster)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/age-at-which-a-women-can-be-called-old-crone/542639/14 "2010-06-10T19:51:53Z")
As for the question. I don’t think I would ever call a woman an old crone. It’s something you read about, rather than ever see these days imo. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/age-at-which-a-women-can-be-called-old-crone/542639/15 "2010-06-11T04:42:31Z")
I might call her that if she really pissed me off. But I’ll have to think about how old she would have to be. ---
**Author:** ![Umbriel2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/4af34b/32.png) [@Umbriel2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Umbriel2)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/age-at-which-a-women-can-be-called-old-crone/542639/16 "2010-06-11T04:48:59Z")
I think it simply requires substantial wrinkling and bent posture. Fertility is neither especially relevant in this day and age, nor easy to evaluate in passing. I would indeed consider the term the feminine form of “coot,” though coots are necessarily thin, often wiry and spry. While crones are often withered, they can be of heavier build (for example, the woman from whom Arthur and his knights attempt to extort a shrubbery in _Monty Python and the Holy Grail_). I’ve seen crack addict mugshots where it might apply as early as the 40s, though 60+ is probably more common. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/age-at-which-a-women-can-be-called-old-crone/542639/17 "2010-06-11T04:55:40Z")
I would never call a woman an old crone. I’d call her an old bat. Same age when I’d call her male counterpart an old geezer. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/age-at-which-a-women-can-be-called-old-crone/542639/18 "2010-06-11T05:02:44Z")
I picked over 100 because I could probably outrun her after I called her that. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2010, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/age-at-which-a-women-can-be-called-old-crone/542639/19 "2010-06-13T17:48:30Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > You asked for people’s opinions and you got one. :rolleyes: yourself. No, he didn’t. He created a poll asking what age of woman the term can be used for. She did not merely tell him that, to her, the word did not correspond to age, as it is used in her religion. She instead used her religion to disparage him for asking the question in the first place. The same action that is one of thwe reasons non-religious people tend to hate religious ones. She popped in to threadshit (saying the question was beneath her.) And she got called on it. ---
**Author:** ![InterestedObserver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@InterestedObserver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InterestedObserver)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2010, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/age-at-which-a-women-can-be-called-old-crone/542639/20 "2010-06-13T18:05:30Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > No, he didn’t. He created a poll asking what age of woman the term can be used for. She did not merely tell him that, to her, the word did not correspond to age, as it is used in her religion. She instead used her religion to disparage him for asking the question in the first place. The same action that is one of thwe reasons non-religious people tend to hate religious ones. > > She popped in to threadshit (saying the question was beneath her.) And she got called on it. Um, one of the options in the poll is NEVER. She was stating THAT opinion and offering her rationale. And I concur. Not only is “crone” used incorectly here, but linking it to the subjective idea of “ugliness” is offensive in itself. Just MY opinion in this OPINION poll in the area known as “In my humble opinion”. 😛 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/age-at-which-a-women-can-be-called-old-crone/542639.md?page=2)