bants
Friendly verbal jabs
Bants is British slang for playful teasing or joking around between friends, short for banter.
It implies good-natured mockery rather than genuine hostility: We were just having some bants.
The word carries a laddish tone, associated with pub culture and friendly ribbing.
Playful, mild ridicule
- jokingSaying things in fun
- ribbingAffectionate verbal teasing
- roastingCooking with dry heat
- joshingPlayful mocking
jesting · mockery · raillery · chaffing · wisecracks · quips · repartee · back-and-forth
Work meant to amuse
- jokesHumorous remarks or stories
- gagsJokes or silencing devices
- sarcasmIrony used to mock
- ironyMeaning opposite to words
wordplay · puns · satire · mirth · hilarity · amusement · laughs · bickering
Bond of mutual affection
- bondingForming close connections
- brotherhoodKinship among men
- fellowshipMutual goodwill among companions
- ladsInformal term for boys
mates · crew · squad · togetherness · solidarity · rapport · kinship · group chat
teasing
Playful, mild ridicule
joshing · jesting · mockery · raillery · chaffing · wisecracks · quips · repartee · back-and-forth · jibes
comedy
Work meant to amuse
irony · wordplay · puns · satire · mirth · hilarity · amusement · laughs · bickering · wit
friendship
Bond of mutual affection
- bondingForming close connections
- brotherhoodKinship among men
- fellowshipMutual goodwill among companions
lads · mates · crew · squad · togetherness · solidarity · rapport · kinship · group chat · inside jokes
bantshostility
Antagonistic disposition toward others
insults · bullying · aggression · vitriol · nastiness
bantsgravitas
Dignified, weighty manner
solemnity · earnestness · seriousness · heart-to-heart · formal address
bantsstonewalling
Deliberately refusing to respond
frostiness · aloofness · cold shoulder · silent treatment · shunning
- witty banterPlayful clever conversation
- playful banterLighthearted teasing exchange
- locker room banterCrude speech in athletic spaces
- flirty banterPlayful, suggestive conversation
- clever banterWitty conversational exchange
- stage banterTalk during live shows