This riddle is not really about grammar. It’s about how we think.
Let’s analyze:
- “King → Queen” is a real pair
- “Prince → Princess” is also a real pair
- But “Bossess” is actually incorrect English (we say “boss” for both)
So the pattern is already broken on purpose to mislead you.
💡 The Real Idea
The riddle tricks you into expecting a feminine version using “+ ess”, but not every word follows that rule.
Now look at “chief”:
- There is no standard feminine form like “chiefess”
- In real English, we simply say “chief” for both genders
