Female curmudgeon = Battleaxe?

[Tabouli]

How about "battleaxe"?  I've seen this word used for the formidable old woman.  To my mind "battleaxe" implies more dignity than "harridan" and "bitch" and the rest.  It has connotations of someone who is tough, critical and domineering, perhaps even cruel, but who also commands a certain respect.  It could even be said with fondness, as in: "Oh, she's a bit of an old battleaxe, but she has a good heart." (McGonagall, perhaps, though she's a bit too soft-centred to really wear the title).

Tabouli.

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