Insults – we've all heard them and maybe even dished them out ourselves. They're like a verbal battlefield where words become weapons. But here's the thing: some insults are more than just a slap on the ego; they're pure poetry in put-down form.
Enter the “Rare Insults” X account. With more than 1.5 million followers, it's the go-to spot for the wittiest and most jaw-dropping linguistic maestros on the internet.
We've rounded up the crème de la crème of these verbal fireworks for your amusement. So, continue scrolling and let us know which ones tickled your funny bone. And hey, if you're still hungry for more, we've got you covered. Check out Bored Panda's earlier dose of insult madness – because who doesn't love a good laugh?
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When it comes to humor, clever insults can often walk a fine line between being perceived as playful banter and crossing into the territory of cruelty. People often use witty and sharp-tongued remarks in comedy, but can we do it without being unkind? To learn more about witty and clever insults, Bored Panda reached out to Nigel Barber, Ph.D., an evolutionary psychologist and the writer of “Kindness In A Cruel World.”
Some friends often playfully tease each other with insults that don't come across as mean-spirited. According to Nigel Barber, in that context, an insult is accepted as a witty remark. “It can be quite different if we are interacting with a stranger whose insults may be perceived as unfriendly and even malicious. You need to know what is acceptable speech for a particular setting, context, and group of acquaintances.”
When we chat online, it's easy for jokes and playful words to accidentally hurt someone's feelings. How can we then have fun with clever remarks and wordplay while still being nice to each other? “In the real world, it is easy to see when we have crossed the line because the other person's hurt expression becomes clear and we have a chance to backtrack, or qualify, our remarks, or to soften them with a lighter joke. In the context of online interactions, it is much riskier at least if we are relying mainly on text,” Barber explained. When we write something online, it's permanent, and there's always someone ready to criticize us or even cancel us.
In today's digital world, insults often come in the form of written words, like messages or comments. But here's the thing: when we can't see someone's face or hear their tone, it can change how we understand and feel about those insults. “Communications experts believe that most of our communications are nonverbal so that a medium that cuts off the nonverbal puts us at a real disadvantage,” Barber shared. “We cannot disparage our own statements with a shrug, or a laugh. The bottom line is that we should really be much more cautious in online communications. Unfortunately, that does not seem to be how most people communicate online, which may be one reason why there is so much friction and unpleasantness,” the professor added.
How... do you even get into that many car accidents, let alone in a single year? "-_-
It’s important to mention that, in today's digital age, the impact of insults, especially when they find their way online and go viral, can be devastating for some people. Nigel Barber shared that crushing insults can dent one’s confidence and impinge on their happiness. “Clinical psychologists report that there is a huge increase in anxiety and depression, particularly among young people, during the Internet Age. Teenagers seem to be most affected due to (a) the fact that they are extensive users of social media and (b) that they do not have the maturity to cope with online insults.”
The best way of coping with insults, according to Barber, is probably to take a break from the platforms that are causing distress for some time. “This helps to establish a little distance from them and to regain a better sense of control over one's own life. This might involve spending time in the actual company of friends, doing something that provides a sense of creativity or mastery, or simply spending time exploring the wonders of nature.”
We asked Barber if social norms around insults and offensive language have shifted in recent years. He shared that some people like to say that the world is becoming ruder, but there have always been plenty of unkind comments. “Look at William Shakespeare who liked to have his characters engage in duels of insults. What has really changed is that social media are run by algorithms that maximize engagement. Since hatred increases engagement, this means that nastiness comes to the fore. Communications that express real hostility are promoted in a business model that monetizes hatred. Hence the rise of nasty insults online and of the people who put them out there.”
Im 36, she would probably say I am useless with 3 years experience.
... and that careless douche even killed all the other animals as well. I can understand that humans, in total, do suck big time, but do cats, do crows, do spiders? None of them! They're all precious living beings, and yet, the god humans invented only cares about hum - nevermind, my mistake, got it. Whatever it is, if you can't degod it, leave it behind, and if you can, do.
FRIENDS didn't utilize a laugh track. It was filmed before a studio audience.
Most sit coms are filmed before a live audience with a laugh track added before it airs.
Load More Replies...Millions of people in the United States and around the world would disagree
This is more a comment on the average person's level of humor sophistication than a critique of Friends. I would have to agree with him.
Actually Friends doesn't use a laugh track. They would constantly change their jokes if the audience didn't laugh
Sitcoms were so much better when they were filmed in front of a live audience.
I accidentally hit my phone with my thumb while watching Hulu and somehow started Home Improvement. Now it will haunt my history forever. WANT TO CONTINUE WATCHING HOME IMPROVEMENT? If you like Home Improvement, you'll love -
When you have the laugh track out, can I borrow it to add it to the movie "Water (wonderful) world"? So everyone can laugh at the two hundred obvious blunders throughout it.
It’s not that it wasn’t funny, it’s just t… you’re right. It wasn’t funny.
Go one step further: add the Friends laugh trap to something like Hannibal and hey, guaranteed weird fun!
Alert! Alert! Someone is announcing they are an edgelord. Marvel at him, people, for you shall never be as edgy as he.
Not liking Friends in s actually quite common place. Nothing to see here.
Load More Replies...Wish they would do that with all sitcoms. And shut off the applause signs at talk shows.
There's already clips of this on YouTube. Really highlights how banal this show is.
Currently have Arrested Development on. This made me imagine the show with a laugh track. Not good.
Friends without the laugh track turns into "thirtysomething". The Big Bang Theory without the laugh track turns into "bunch of arseholes sitting around insulting each other".
And when you learn that the laughter is an old recording where everyone recorded laughing is long dead...
M*A*S*H german synchro didn't have any laugh track and it was miles better
Editing out the laugh tracks would be a pretty easy job - it was filmed in front of a live audience. what you would do by editing them out is ruin the timing of the whole thing, so what you would be doing is not showing people how unfunny it is; you'd be *making* it unfunny.
But is Friends "bad" because it is a bad show, or because it didn't age well? As I remember, Seinfeld was probably the most cutting edge show at the time and Friends was quite popular. Now it doesn't compare to amazing shows like Parks and Rec, The Office or The Good Place (to name only a few NBC shows) but that level of sophistication in comedy series was only just evolving.
I hate laugh tracks, but has there ever been a TV comedy series that makes people laugh out loud? Most are not laugh-out-loud shows. I'm not sure how that is even possible with that type of comedy show. Edit: And I just read that most of it was real laughter, not a laugh track.
If you did this to 2 1/2 Men it'd just be a show were everybody's mean to each other and pauses for 5 seconds after every sentence.
FRIENDS is a bad show. Was quite dosappointed when I watched it for the 1st time about 7 years ago
Most things that are really popular are that way because most people have poor taste.
I'm going to have to re-evaluate my IQ. It took me 20 seconds to see that.
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