What if she had said, innocently, "why, what a queer thing to say!"
Perfectly good use of English.
Maybe so, but just remember what happened several years ago to the city official who complained that his budget was "niggardly"...
I think I'm going to make a point to use the word "queer"- as in strange - in front of my students at least once each semester.
I'll let you know what happens.