Somebody asked why banter in the UK is ‘so top tier’ – 21 answers that will make you proud to be British

While other countries are proud of their sporting prowess or cultural contributions, British people are inordinately pleased about their ability to rip the absolute piss in a friendly way.

And why not? Taking the mick without causing offence is a very delicate balance.

They’ve been chatting about how British people develop this skill on the AskABrit subreddit after Lost_Let_546 asked this:

‘Why is the banter in the UK so top tier?

‘I feel like i could mess with anyone and nobody takes it so seriously, and most of the time the time y’all come up w some better comeback. Where does this come from?’

And lots of people chipped in with their thoughts on the matter, like these…

1.

‘Our schools are bear pits. You either give it back or take shit all your life.’
–burntso

2.

‘You do one tiny thing wrong ONCE and that’s your awful nickname forever. A boy in my year once got yoghurt on his jumper at lunch and he’s still called Spunky Top to this very day. That was in 1984.’
–Curious_Reference408

3.

‘A guy at my junior school was called Page 8-16 for years because his school book went from page 8-16 due to missing pages.

‘He went to a different secondary school for a second chance at life.’
–c0tch

4.

‘Kid had to borrow a PE kit from lost property on the first day of secondary school and was subsequently Schoolpants for the rest of school.’
–TheAmazingSealo

5.

‘My laugh went high pitched once or twice when I was about 7 or 8, I’m now 42 and my friends still call me Screech.’
–Zleck-V2

6.

‘It carries over into work environments too which is always fun. Forgot something and got to walk back into the office after leaving? Everyone will say “Morning!” as if you love the place.

‘Get to work a tiny bit late the next day? “Fucking hell, shit the bed?” Or get in very late and it’s “Fucking hell, half day?”

‘Nobody ever asks if someone is better after being off sick, it’s immediately “Nice holiday?” Or “Bad hangover?”‘
–Neverbethesky

7.

‘School culture plants the seed, pub culture develops it. Plus, getting a new burn in on a mate and gaining group approval is a good source of endorphins.’
–Badger-of-Briarwood

8.

‘We’re British so we rip the piss. As it always has been and always will be.’
–Brizzledude65

9.

‘Ozzies and Kiwis get it, Yanks and Canadians not so much.’
–Jet2work

10.

‘My not-really-thought-out theory is it’s because the Aussies and Kiwis are mainly descendants of the working class, whereas Americans were – in the case of the pilgrims at least – middle class.’
–GreenStuffGrows

11.

‘If we don’t like you, we won’t take the piss out of you.’
–Krismusic1

12.

‘We start mugging each other off as soon as we can talk and then it just never stops.’
–jjjjaaaakkkkeee