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We’ve all had moments in our lives where we just needed that perfect comeback to make everyone laugh or put someone in their place. Unfortunately, the best insults seem to come to us while we’re showering or right before going to bed. But what if we could have said the thing that was on the tip of our tongue, that would have saved our reputation at that moment?

Well, fret not, cause we’re here to help pad out your arsenal with the best insults from this viral Askreddit community thread!

More info: Reddit

#1

32 Of The Most Savage Insults People Have Ever Heard, As Shared In This Online Group Some guy on Reddit says he had fornicated with OPs mother. OP replies “Im happy to know that Im no longer her biggest disappointment”. I haven’t heard any insult that epic before or since.

Ryno5150 , Stefan Stefancik Report

#2

32 Of The Most Savage Insults People Have Ever Heard, As Shared In This Online Group A colleague of mine was told the following by a waitress when he had tried to hit on her.

"You have more d**k in your personality than you do in your pants"

DanteBMerkley , ELEVATE Report

#3

32 Of The Most Savage Insults People Have Ever Heard, As Shared In This Online Group When I was in high school, one of my classmates gave our teacher a typical “your mom” response to a question without realizing the teacher’s mother had just died. Without missing a beat, the teacher said “leave my mother out of this. I don’t make fun of your parents, and look what they produced.”

HopeDeferred , Max Fischer Report

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DennyS (denzoren)
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I remember once while playing soccer the striker (I was the defender) was trash taking to me about what he did with my sister last night so I was just smiling along, not saying anything until another teammate got tired of it and was like "dude...he's an only child" and the guy was like "oh" lol so I was like "it's not a problem, I didn't know I had a sister so it was nice to know she's doing well".

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For this article, Bored Panda got in touch with experienced copy-editor and professional language writer in Ireland, Stan Carey. You can visit his website here and also find more interesting, but explicit, articles about expletives on the Strong Language blog.

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Also providing their input about why insults between friends are funny rather than rude and some novel examples of insults is James Harbeck, professional editor, designer, and writer. You can read more about him and his work on his website or his blog Sesquiotica.

#4

32 Of The Most Savage Insults People Have Ever Heard, As Shared In This Online Group 16 year old me trying to convince my dad to take my friends and I to see American Pie: Dad: so what is it about? Me: a group of high school friends trying to lose their virginity. Dad: I can stay home and see that.

Theromented1 , IMP Awards Report

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DennyS (denzoren)
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Oh no, burn. Lol (also nothing wrong with losing or not losing, don't let anyone pressure you).

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#5

32 Of The Most Savage Insults People Have Ever Heard, As Shared In This Online Group Teacher of mine once said to a classmate who kept making the most asinine contributions to the conversation:

“You make it really difficult to underestimate you.”

The guy had no idea what it meant, he thought it was a compliment .

robbycakes , Arthur Krijgsman Report

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Luca Fenton
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

my friend confused a kid at school by saying "i envy the people who dont know you"

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#6

32 Of The Most Savage Insults People Have Ever Heard, As Shared In This Online Group “You’re not the dumbest person I’ve ever met, but you better hope he doesn’t die.”

Trick-Reveal-463 , August de Richelieu Report

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If you are particularly interested in how a particular vulgar word and its alternatives evolved through the decades, you may find something fun in Jonathon Green’s historical slang timelines, as suggested by Stan Carey. Although there is little context, it’s quite amusing to see that the synonym for “foolish” in the 1850’s was “suck-egg”, whatever that may mean.

#7

32 Of The Most Savage Insults People Have Ever Heard, As Shared In This Online Group Bunch of quite pretentious people getting out of a limo at a club and pretending they’re more than they are to get in ahead of the line, bouncer quips “ Can always tell clowns, all arriving in the same car.”

preferablyoutside , Erik Mclean Report

#8

32 Of The Most Savage Insults People Have Ever Heard, As Shared In This Online Group Winston Churchill supposedly in response to being called drunk during a debate: “I may be drunk but tomorrow I shall be sober. You, however, madam, shall always be ugly”.

studude765 , wikipedia Report

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James016
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Lady Nancy Astor: Winston, if you were my husband, I'd poison your tea. Churchill: Nancy, if I were your husband, I'd drink it.

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#9

32 Of The Most Savage Insults People Have Ever Heard, As Shared In This Online Group I was at a pool in Vegas and wearing a straw cowboy hat with my shirt open. One friend said "damn, how can you not get laid with that outfit today"

Other friend said "don't worry, he'll show us."

randomvegasposts , Brett Sayles Report

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Blatherskite is a colorful insult with an old-fashioned flavor that's fun to say,” says Stan Carey. Apparently, the “-skite” part alludes to sh*t, and most people don’t know that. As blather means empty and long-winded talk, you can probably guess what it means.

#10

32 Of The Most Savage Insults People Have Ever Heard, As Shared In This Online Group Was playing Pavlov(vr game) with a group of people, one of which was this very annoying kid who kept saying something like "You're bad because you're adopted" and such like that. He did that to one dude, and the guy replies something like "I'd return the insult, but that'd imply someone wanted you"


Had the whole lobby erupting. IDK if it's taken from somewhere or what.

ClaireBear13492 , Eugene Capon Report

#11

32 Of The Most Savage Insults People Have Ever Heard, As Shared In This Online Group My favorite of all time was from roast me. Guy was wearing a checkered shirt and the line was:

“Thanks for wearing graph paper so we can calculate the exact waste of space”

LNinefingers , Andrea Piacquadio Report

#12

32 Of The Most Savage Insults People Have Ever Heard, As Shared In This Online Group I'd challenge you to a battle of wits but I see you are unarmed.

therome_88 , Mimi Thian Report

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Discussing why insults between friends are funny rather than insulting, James Harbeck mentions that they are funny because they demonstrate permission. “You show that you know you have the right to speak to the other person in terms that would be taken badly by someone you were not on close terms with, and that you know they know,” says James. These claims are somewhat confirmed in a case study about insults and social cohesion.

#13

32 Of The Most Savage Insults People Have Ever Heard, As Shared In This Online Group "it's because of people like you, that they still print instructions on shampoo bottles".

Loved that.

The_TravellerJ , Polina Tankilevitch Report

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DennyS (denzoren)
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Wait, is it a bad thing that I always read the shampoo instructions? I wanna make sure I know if it's a single lather, lather wash lather, or a say in for 3mins.

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#14

32 Of The Most Savage Insults People Have Ever Heard, As Shared In This Online Group You've got a face for radio, and a voice for writing.

mike_e_mcgee , Eric Nopanen Report

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LizzieBoredom
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You've got a voice for cattle auctions, and a face for.....well, the same thing.

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#15

32 Of The Most Savage Insults People Have Ever Heard, As Shared In This Online Group Best one I've heard recently was someone who commented on a shirtless picture of a guy and called him Tragic Mike.

BoredBSEE , KAL VISUALS Report

Insulting friends may also be a good way to let off some steam and equalize perceived or possible social inequalities, James says. Nevertheless, these boundaries should be judged carefully, James says, sharing the case of English dandy Beau Brummell insulting the Prince Regent, with whom he had formerly been on good terms. “He said to one of the prince’s companions, 'Alvanley, who’s your fat friend?' – and met his social downfall as a result.”

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#16

32 Of The Most Savage Insults People Have Ever Heard, As Shared In This Online Group ''I bet your parents change the subject when their friends ask about you.''

scottcree486 , Caleb Oquendo Report

#17

32 Of The Most Savage Insults People Have Ever Heard, As Shared In This Online Group When I was 16, I accidentally cut a woman off and she screamed out her car window at me “Who did you f**k to get your license!?!?” I laughed so hard. It really stuck with me.

notade50 , Jaromír Kavan Report

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Something
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not really an appropriate thing to say to a minor, though.

Sarah SH
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

People hate it when you laugh when they’re trying to upset you. Which is why it’s kind of my go-to reaction.

Robert T
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Guy cut me off and when I gave him a friendly honk, he shook a bottle of champagne at me out of the window. Must think I'm a winner. :D

DennyS (denzoren)
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"They paid for that" is the common alternative here...because it's sometimes true due to corruption.

setsuriseikou
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's "bought the license, but forgot to buy the skills" here in Russia.

The Original Bruno
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"I'd say your Mom but we all know even the DMV wouldn't hire someone so nasty."

The Original Bruno
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

to non-Americans: DMV is the Department of Motor Vehicles, the employees of which have a well-earned reputation for being miserable people.

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April Stephens
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yeah.. I think the title has changed to say Best Insults now. These titles are always confusing and the content doesn't seem to fit them...

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dab
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

best part is that it's a women yelling that zinger, equal rights at it's best

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#18

32 Of The Most Savage Insults People Have Ever Heard, As Shared In This Online Group You'd struggle to pour water out of a boot with the instructions printed on the heel.

You've got two brain cells, and they're both fighting for third place.

Somewhere out there is a tree tirelessly producing oxygen for you to breathe. You should go apologize to it.

At my funeral, I want my coworkers to be my pallbearers and lower my casket into my grave, so they can all let me down one last time.

And my personal favorite, from an episode of *Frasier* :

>Roger, at Cornell University, they have an incredible piece of scientific equipment known as the tunneling electron microscope. Now, this microscope is so powerful, that by firing electrons, you can actually see images of the atom, the infinitesimally minute building blocks of our universe. Roger, if I were using that microscope right now---I still wouldn't be able to locate my interest in your problem. Thank you for your call.

FlashpointJ24 , Toa Heftiba Report

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Irish English has insults derived from Irish for every occasion, according to Stan Carey. Sleeveen, referring to someone untrustworthy, and cute hoor are popular examples, especially used in political contexts. Sleeveen is especially popular in Irish politics, used to define politicians as smooth-tongued rogues.

#19

32 Of The Most Savage Insults People Have Ever Heard, As Shared In This Online Group When your mom dropped you off at school this morning she got fined because they thought she was littering.

NucularOrchid , Mary Taylor Report

#20

32 Of The Most Savage Insults People Have Ever Heard, As Shared In This Online Group I was at a hot girl bar with some of my coworkers a few years ago having drinks after work. All the girls were 10/10’s and our waitress had super blonde almost silver hair that looked really nice. One of my coworkers got a little too drunk and started hitting on her, which she handled well. She was probably used to it. He pulls her aside and loudly in front of all of us shouts at her “do you know what we call your hair color where I’m from? “F**k me blonde””. Without missing a beat she replies “do you know what we call your hair color where I’m from? “A*****e brown”” and walked away. We all died laughing and tipped her very well. He was cut off after that needless to say. I still think about this 6 years later 😂

Silver_Eyes13 , cottonbro studio Report

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#21

32 Of The Most Savage Insults People Have Ever Heard, As Shared In This Online Group Your mama is so slow, it took her 9 months to come up with a joke.

BroNizzle Report

Stan Carey further directs us to an anecdote from Luis Buñuel’s Autobiography about how cursing helped him get across past border control during the Spanish Civil War. “In fact, blasphemy in Spain is truly an art; in Mexico, for instance, I never heard a proper curse, whereas in my native land, a good one lasts for at least three good-sized sentences. [...] It was with a curse of this kind, uttered in all its seemly intensity, that I regaled the three anarchists from Port Bou. When I’d finished, they stamped my papers and I crossed the border.”

#23

32 Of The Most Savage Insults People Have Ever Heard, As Shared In This Online Group I hope you have the day you deserve.

Adcro , Cristina Gottardi Report

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#24

32 Of The Most Savage Insults People Have Ever Heard, As Shared In This Online Group Context aside, someone once told me I look like I go to the park to punch birds.

TheRoamingWeeb , Shakeb Tawheed Report

James gives some examples of context and profession-specific insults, but adds that better ones must be out there. One example is the military FNG term, referring to a fudging new guy, in more polite terminology. In Spanish cultures, overweight men are sometimes called Flaco, meaning “skinny”. It’s understood to be ironic and overpolite, as you’re doing the opposite of pointing out a socially negative trait, without doing so directly, James adds.

#26

32 Of The Most Savage Insults People Have Ever Heard, As Shared In This Online Group They’d need a recipe for making ice cubes

thepiecesaremoving , cottonbro studio Report

#27

32 Of The Most Savage Insults People Have Ever Heard, As Shared In This Online Group My husband was going out with his friends in their 20's. One of them came downstairs wearing a sweater and chuck tailors with khakis and his roommate goes "what's up, Ellen."

NoKarensPlz , ronpaulrevolt2008 Report

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James Harbeck also directs us to an insulting game, common to African-American communities. It’s called the dozens, usually played by young men, where participants exchange humorous insults in front of an audience. The comments may attack various features of the other person, but aren’t meant to be taken seriously. It’s also important to mention that some versions of this game may have been important towards the development of rap.

#29

32 Of The Most Savage Insults People Have Ever Heard, As Shared In This Online Group Best I ever heard was "you look like somebody set you on fire and put you out with a chain".

CommissionerOfLunacy , Mohamed Nohassi Report

#30

32 Of The Most Savage Insults People Have Ever Heard, As Shared In This Online Group "God just be making anybody."

TreeLovTequiLove , Cherry Laithang Report

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Fish Fingers
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I don't get it. If you're a god botherer, then surely... every moron, child molester, compulsive liar and conman was made by god?

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Finally, Stan shares an exchange by G.B. Shaw and Winston Churchill, the veracity of which is dubious at best. 

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“Shaw: I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play; bring a friend – if you have one.

Churchill: Cannot possibly attend first night; will attend second – if there is one.”

#31

32 Of The Most Savage Insults People Have Ever Heard, As Shared In This Online Group I always thought the Robert Downey^2 vs Val Kilmer was hilarious.

"Look in the dictionary under the definition of idiot, know what you'll find?"

"Uh, a picture of me?"

"No, you'll find the definition of idiot, which you *f*****g* are!"

Or also literally anything that comes out of peter capaldi's mouth in "in the loop"

ligmaass420 , Aaron Burden Report