# Term for a woman who flirts to cause trouble **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 1, 2018, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-a-woman-who-flirts-to-cause-trouble/820600 "2018-09-01T10:36:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2018, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-a-woman-who-flirts-to-cause-trouble/820600/21 "2018-09-01T15:00:55Z")
> [@Arkcon](#): > > Modern Same here. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2018, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-a-woman-who-flirts-to-cause-trouble/820600/22 "2018-09-01T15:01:33Z")
> [@BobBitchin](#): > > 🆒😃 And here. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2018, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-a-woman-who-flirts-to-cause-trouble/820600/23 "2018-09-01T15:50:21Z")
I don’t know of a specific term. Siren or coquette strike me as close, but each lacks a bit of the connotation. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2018, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-a-woman-who-flirts-to-cause-trouble/820600/24 "2018-09-01T16:05:02Z")
It does seem like the kind of thing that there ought to be a word for, but I can’t support any of the suggestions so far—IMHO none of them are really specific to the kind of thing the OP is talking about (or at least I’ve never heard them used in specifically that way). ---
**Author:** ![Alpha\_Twit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alpha_twit/32/265_2.png) [@Alpha\_Twit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpha_Twit)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2018, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-a-woman-who-flirts-to-cause-trouble/820600/25 "2018-09-01T16:09:25Z")
> [@blob](#): > > Firebrand? Some dictionaries include a definition of a person who stirs up trouble. I always saw a “firebrand” as someone, usually an orator, who incites trouble as an agent of change or to call attention to a political or social issue. Maybe they’re trying to incite a mob to storm the Bastille, for example. Stirring the pot just for entertainment value doesn’t seem to fit IMHO. > [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > jezabel I’ll accept this. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2018, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-a-woman-who-flirts-to-cause-trouble/820600/26 "2018-09-01T16:15:04Z")
> [@wonky](#): > > I don’t know of a specific term. Siren or coquette strike me as close, but each lacks a bit of the connotation. Right. There are lots of words for women who use sexual attraction to exploit men. But I can’t think of any that specifically refer to a woman who tries to get men to fight over her (although that might often be one of the results of this behavior.) Minx Siren Coquette Vamp Cock-tease Vixen, maybe, although I see the dictionary definition is merely an unpleasant woman. Other words apply to people who like to start trouble in general, but are not specific to women. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2018, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-a-woman-who-flirts-to-cause-trouble/820600/27 "2018-09-01T17:06:13Z")
If it exists, it’s not any of those mentioned so far. I feel like Andrew Vachss used the term a couple of times in his books… But there’s a lot of them and it wasn’t like an “every other page” sort of usage… I guess I’ll update the thread if I ever encounter the term again. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2018, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-a-woman-who-flirts-to-cause-trouble/820600/28 "2018-09-01T17:13:04Z")
> [@digs](#): > > In my neighborhood, we use the term “Cheryl DeLucca”. > [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](#): > > Oh man, poor Cheryl. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2018, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-a-woman-who-flirts-to-cause-trouble/820600/29 "2018-09-01T17:15:07Z")
[Portia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portia_(The_Merchant_of_Venice))? ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2018, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-a-woman-who-flirts-to-cause-trouble/820600/30 "2018-09-01T17:31:47Z")
Perhaps I’m dating myself but we used to just call a girl like that a “Troublemaker”. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2018, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-a-woman-who-flirts-to-cause-trouble/820600/31 "2018-09-01T17:45:45Z")
I can confirm that Vachss uses the term, fire-starter, in the sense I described. I guess it must have been a lingo in his circles at some point in time, but not one that ever spread beyond that. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2018, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-a-woman-who-flirts-to-cause-trouble/820600/32 "2018-09-01T18:24:05Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > [Portia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portia_(The_Merchant_of_Venice))? I fail to see how that applies. Portia doesn’t deliberately create a rivalry between her suitors. She is bound by the terms of her father’s will. Comparing a woman to Portia would indicate one who is intelligent, wise, and resourceful. As the article notes, references to the character are uniformly positive, and Portia is generally seen as a role model for women. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2018, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-a-woman-who-flirts-to-cause-trouble/820600/33 "2018-09-01T18:24:51Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > Perhaps I’m dating myself but we used to just call a girl like that a “Troublemaker”. The word is not specific to women, though. ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2018, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-a-woman-who-flirts-to-cause-trouble/820600/34 "2018-09-01T18:43:05Z")
Breedbate? ---
**Author:** ![Arkcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Arkcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arkcon)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2018, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-a-woman-who-flirts-to-cause-trouble/820600/35 "2018-09-01T18:49:26Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Same here. Wait, I had more, but I lost the edit. Dang. Please just one more … _ahem_ Reason I’m gay (or asexual or incel, take your pick.) Seriously 'tho, woman who flirts, not because she wants to be flirtatious, but only to cause trouble? That exists? Seriously, did I fall through a crack in time and end up in the 1940’s? 'Cause my computer is now worth millions. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2018, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-a-woman-who-flirts-to-cause-trouble/820600/36 "2018-09-01T18:49:35Z")
Hussy. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2018, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-a-woman-who-flirts-to-cause-trouble/820600/37 "2018-09-01T18:52:52Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > The word is not specific to women, though. Wait, what? This thread is already a disaster and you want to _encourage_ the problem??? I think gender neutral terms _must_ be the priority here. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2018, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-a-woman-who-flirts-to-cause-trouble/820600/38 "2018-09-01T19:03:59Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > Wait, what? > > This thread is already a disaster and you want to _encourage_ the problem??? I’ve discouraged the “problem” by issuing mod notes for inappropriate responses. > [@](#): > > I think gender neutral terms _must_ be the priority here. Those aren’t what the OP is asking for. If you have a problem with the thread or its premise, there is already a thread in ATMB where you can comment on it. Take it there. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2018, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-a-woman-who-flirts-to-cause-trouble/820600/39 "2018-09-01T19:18:03Z")
> [@Arkcon](#): > > Reason I’m gay (or asexual or incel, take your pick.) **Moderator Warning** Making a similar joke after already having been noted on it will get you a warning. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2018, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-a-woman-who-flirts-to-cause-trouble/820600/40 "2018-09-01T20:01:57Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > I fail to see how that applies. Portia doesn’t deliberately create a rivalry between her suitors. She is bound by the terms of her father’s will. Comparing a woman to Portia would indicate one who is intelligent, wise, and resourceful. As the article notes, references to the character are uniformly positive, and Portia is generally seen as a role model for women. Yeah, you’re right. It was more than a reach–and for _that_ reach, I was trying to think of if there is a word for “woman who, at least in common imagery, two jousters in armor fight for the hand of…” Ie, a joke on other (many) standard situations where men fight over women, for varying definitions of the word “fight.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-a-woman-who-flirts-to-cause-trouble/820600.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-a-woman-who-flirts-to-cause-trouble/820600.md?page=3)