Banter

[No1newts]

I've found the word to be mostly used by people who don't actually want "banter", what they want is to endlessly wind other people up and then when it works and they've gotten their childish little kicks they brush it away by saying "just banter lol".

Don't get me wrong I don't mind "actual" banter, i.e a bit of fun at the expense of a friend who can take it, however I really do dislike it when it's just used as an excuse to be a dick of a troll.

This is how I tend to see it, A bit of light mick taking if you know the person can handle it is fine I tend to do this anyway but The majority just tend to take the **** then get offended if you pull them on it saying its only banter.

 

[FutileBreadMachine]

We like a bit of banter, us.

 

[a1ex2001]

Ask your mum, I explained it to her last night

kd

you are confused that was 'BangHer' not banter allthough obviosly the pronunciation is similar.

 

[antijoke]

May have already been said, but blame TOWIE.

I heard it first on there, now every wannabe 'reality star' on the street/facebook uses it.

On TOWIE they use it for everything, from flirting to having diggs on your mate, it's all harmless banter. I think they mean it as general flirting/talking with your friends.

 

[WillyNelson]

It used to be a name for jokey back-and-forth humour, but now it seems to be an excuse for acting like a c.

 

[Col_M]

Cheer up, it's not humiliation! It's joking.

They aren't mutually exclusive.

 

[Alex_6n2]

Bloody hate it. Almost as much as "LAD". ARRRGGHH.

Jealous because you're not a lad?

BANTER!

 

[Zero Pope]

Every single person I know personally that uses the word banter uses it as an excuse to be a ****. No one, other than the odd one or two people find what they say funny. But when they are called out on it they claim it's just banter. I am no longer friends with any of them as they also use the word LAD, oh and reem as well.

 

[Nexus]

May have already been said, but blame TOWIE.

I heard it first on there, now every wannabe 'reality star' on the street/facebook uses it.

On TOWIE they use it for everything, from flirting to having diggs on your mate, it's all harmless banter. I think they mean it as general flirting/talking with your friends.

This.

Although I don't watch it, its quite well known that the whole people saying the word 'banter' thing has stemmed from that. I believe Amy Childs has a lot to answer for!

 

[strumpusplunket]

 

[Eddie]

Seems to be the hip way to describe 'talking ****'

Definitely.

 

[div0]

Some people new to get new friends if they consider 'banter' to be in any way offensive.

Good banter != taking the ****.

 

[Adrianr]

It used to mean something, along with lad. Now they're both overused by the swag-kiddy community, making them more or less meaningless

What on earth is the 'swag-kiddy' community?

 

[DiCe!]

low level socially acceptable bullying.

 

[dirtychinchilla]

May have already been said, but blame TOWIE.

I heard it first on there, now every wannabe 'reality star' on the street/facebook uses it.

On TOWIE they use it for everything, from flirting to having diggs on your mate, it's all harmless banter. I think they mean it as general flirting/talking with your friends.

Nope TOWIE have just used it, the Gap Yah video is where it first got used like that.

 

[Nexus]

Nope TOWIE have just used it, the Gap Yah video is where it first got used like that.

It's not about where it came from, or who claims they started using it first. As anticonscience pointed out, the use of the term's current popularity has come from TOWIE, which sadly is one of the most watched and imitated shows in the country. Which in itself is amusing, because TOWIE of course wasn't the first of such shows, but has been much copied ever since.

 

[CREATIVE!11]

For people generally it seems to mean insulting or putting your friends down in front of people/girls and labelling it "banter".

It's not something I personally do.

I see banter as taking humour from some else's misfortunes without them taking offence, basically taking the ****. The problem is people have different levels of tolerance so you have to know the person well enough. On the contrary, to give out banter you must be prepared to take it but rarely this is the case.

This.

 

[Swifty55]

When did "banter" become such a big thing? Heck what even is "banter"?

I used to be out all time when I was single up until five years ago I never really heard anyone talk about banter. Since bring shacked up I still get out once a month and always get to birthdays etc but just recently it seems everyone now goes on about "banter."

X has good banter, Y has **** banter. Apparently my "banter" is **** too according to some of my extended social circle

What is banter and why is it so important? Do you have good banter? I'm genuinely miffed, though I don't particularly give a toss and won't change I would like to know what everyone is on about!

Girlfriend has you whipped? Does she not let you out anymore?

 

[Hatter The Mad]

No. The Gap Yah video preceded TOWIE and was the cause of the explosion in the use of the word 'banter' for everything. TOWIE starting in October 2010, the Gap Yah video being from February 2010.

That's also not true. While I don't know where 'banter' started, I know it predates 2010; it is/was particularly popular among some public school boys going into university (which for me was 2005) and kind of disseminated from there - especially from those who went to Rugby etc, and to those who played rugby, etc

Or maybe the 'Gap Yah' video caused the explosion of it outside of Uni, but the video was essentially a parody of a certain type of public school guy who went to a certain type of Uni (i.e. Cambridge, Oxford, Durham, Bristol, Edinburgh)... or even more specifically, the 'evolved sloan' of The Royal Borough

 

[Feek]

Banter is what a bunch of good mates do when they're all together. It's good natured mickey taking, nothing more. Is there a new meaning to the word that I'm not aware of?