# good banter



## feelinsoso

Hello there  

"we had quality banter last night" or simply "nice banter". 

Does "on s'est bien éclatés" work ? thks in advance !


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## honey-b

Je dirai, dans le français québecois, "On a bien jasé hier soir."
Where did you get this sentence?  Je n'ai jamais entendu "banter" dans une contexte pareille.


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## feelinsoso

i guess it's scottish slang


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## Kelly B

Banter sounds rather... _soutenu..._ to me. Is the speaker a language professor, or making fun of one, or something like that? Or perhaps banter is not so formal in the UK, I don't know._ Badiner _is suggested in the on-site dictionary.


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## feelinsoso

It wasn't used by a professor, the context is quite colloquial actually. I think it is a bit like saying "we had good fun", but i wouldn't know how to translate that in french though, conveying the same meaning. Thanks anyway !


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## ottawaguy

I think banter is more or less another way of saying to talk.  Perhaps in the sense of a debate.  It could also be used in the context of light hearted conversation as well I think.


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## wildan1

_On a bien causé
On a bien parlé à bâtons rompus_ ?


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## david314

*badiner, plaisanter* according to Merriam-Webster, also. 

Note:  I tend to hear this word spoken by the older generation.


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## 123Repeater

Banter as used in this sense is in no way _soutenu_, and, rather than being specifically scottish or used by an older generation, is more accurately placed as student slang, also picked-up by public school boys. It essentially means meaningless witty chat, or fun, quite possibly when drunk eg. _lash chat banter maaate/banter banter banter get keen!_ Whilst _badinage _is a reasonable semantic translation it is of completely the wrong register. An more accurate translation may differ from region to region (clearly not all English-speakers would use banter in this manner) and would most probably be in _verlan, _though since the word is steeped in culturally specific associations, it may prove good as untranslatable.


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## Sarah11

I agree with 123Repeater. In the UK banter is very commonly used


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## wildan1

In AE _banter _is not a schoolboy term, although I wouldn't personally call it _soutenu_ as Kelly did--in my opinion it is a standard word. 

It describes a lively oral exchange (only talking; not general having fun as it seems the Scottish usage can describe), with witty back-and-forth remarks. Like something you hear radio partners do on the morning drive-to-work stations.

Y a-t-il d'autres termes en français pour cela que _le badinage_ ?


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## DeSica

On pourrait traduire par _On a bien déconné.

Déconner _est ici un verbe valise quelque peu mais je ne trouve rien de mieux qui s'approcherait d'un langage actuel.


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## uktom

noun   1. an exchange of light, playful, teasing remarks; good-natured raillery.i hope that helps in the reply


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## Caillou

I agree with 123Repeater, nicely said.
I live and teach in Glasgow, and I can tell you that the term is often used by private schools boys : )

En français, je dirais "on a bien déliré hier soir", "c'était mortel hier soir", "super soirée hier soir"

so yeah, "On s'est bien éclaté" sounds good to me.


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## HRHRemy

I could not agree more with uktom, "Banter" describes gentle teasing, picking on someone, being annoying to your friends just for the pleasure to wind them up. And I have to concur that it is a word that is quite specific to the Public School/upper-middle class, since it is an activity without which they could not survive. The only equivalent that I can think of is "se chambrer", but it is not quite the same level of speech, since it is rather familiar. On a standard level, one could use "se chercher", therefore giving :

"On s'est chambré gentiment hier soir" _(fam)
_"On s'est un peu cherché avec les copains hier soir, c'était marrant !"

or maybe, in the same idea :

"Les vannes ont fusé hier soir"
"Tout le monde en a pris pour son grade (dans la bonne humeur)" etc...


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## petit1

on a bien tchatché


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## vincent7520

Oui… mais alors qu'est qu'un _"quality banter" ????_


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## wildan1

_Quality banter_ suggère que le fond de la discussion était intéressant--donc, _on a bien déconné _me paraît un peu loin de ce sens.

Le registre de _banter_ semble un peu différent en Écosse par rapport à son usage (plutôt généralisé et pas vraiment familier) en AE.


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## word_junkie

For an illustration of use in a different context (sport radio) google 'banter' and either 'radio 5 live' or 'Talk Sport' - these serve a broader social stratum than public schools!

This https://twitter.com/bbc5live/statuses/26172181109 specifically contains the string 'quality banter'. 

I would agree with the characterisation of 'gentle teasing' - in this context eg boasting about your team, running down the opposition, often using hyperbole and parody or egging someone else on to do so. Mostly but not exclusively male occupation.


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## Zlabya

Saints22 said:


> "Nous nous engageâmes dans de la bonne déconne hier soir"



You can not use in the same sentence a passé-simple (kind of preterit totally disused in oral language) and a word of slang like "déconne"; it sounds very weird like soutenu/slang. And "s'engager dans" is not appropriate here because it means "enter" and works only with "in a conversation" or "in a debate" but not "in a banter".

> Ca a bien vanné hier soir / On a bien vanné hier soir

Une vanne is a joke for teasing, and the verb is "vanner".
"chambrer" means the same but is not common, more litterary.


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## nodnol

It had never occured to me before that it was particularly common as an upper-middle class, or a stereotypically public schoolboy term, but I can believe it. -- The posh character [ed. a Stowe old-boy] in the [UK student-based] sitcom/comedy drama 'Fresh Meat' uses it a great deal.

I expect 'banter' doesn't have one core meaning that all UK speakers would agree upon. I think one meaning might be lively 'blokish' (bloke) conversation, (--however you define that!) The tv channel 'Dave,' a commercial, free-to-watch digital channel that notably features repeats of shows like Top Gear and panel comedies (Have I got News For You,  Mock the Week) from the BBC, calls itself 'the home of witty banter'.

But I would use the word much more narrowly; I imagine a sports team, who are obviously close knit, but also forced to spend time with each other; something in the British character says that they are much more comfortable criticising each other, taking the mick out of each other, than encouraging each other or saying how much they appreciate each other, and this trading of light insults is what I call 'banter,' --something which in itself may not seem all that impressive to outsiders. [EDIT: For me, 'banter' excludes anything that could be described as subtle, sophisticated or whimsical.] The public had a hard time 'getting the joke' when we learned that one of Prince Harry's military chums had the nickname 'darkie' (he was not white).

Perhaps where I'm most used to hearing it, or using it, is something like 'They were being quite mean to Jake, weren't they? It looked like bullying to me.' 'No, it was just harmless banter. (He gives as good as he gets, that's just how they relate to each other.)'

--But used to mean 'light hearted conversation, with a few laughs' I'd never thought that it was highbrow or uncommon, and the fact I don't use the term much is mainly a reflection of the fact I'm not keen on sports radio etc. --and I didn't go to Stowe boarding school.

PS 
(I'd like to hear more about AE usuage)
My favourite dictionary describes its etymology as 'quite unknown', whereas I was expecting some link to French 'badiner'.


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## Zlabya

About comedies, I've heard this in The Office US , season 7 episode 21, and it seems to be used for a stand up duo when one launch a sentence and the second give immediatly a funny comeback. They call it banters.

banters would need two people with good sense of repartee, or am I totally lost?


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## david314

> banter would need two people with good sense of repartee ...


 *Banter *without an _s. _


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## petit1

ça a été une bonne partie de rigolade hier soir


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## vincent7520

petit1 said:


> ça a été une bonne partie de rigolade hier soir




Oui mais il manque le côté "practical" du mot "banter" … on se défonce, on est un peu beurré avec "banter" … La bonne partie de rigolade n'a pas besoin de bière et peut même avoir lieu autour de blangues "sophistiquées" ce que "banter" exclue !…


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## Syayae

HRHRemy, Saints22, Word_Junkie you seem to have the meaning spot on.  I am sorry but it refers to a sarcastic, exchange of words with humour.  Even when used with some kind of viralent, nasty and damn right innuendo, it is satirically as Saints emphasised as a way of goading someone to do something.  Daring them to wind them up.  It's not regional, certainly not used differently in Scotland and moreover doesn't belong and it's useage is certainly not with the upper middle classes as suggested.  In fact quite the opposite, I would expect not only everyone to enjoy banter, as it is typically a very Anglophone construction.  I would actually say that the term itself is originated in more manual-worker and echelons in society.  

I personally hate the word banter, it makes me think of very poorly educated people who think banter justifies being rude in places.  It's a very complex word and meaning.  Badiner doesn't really belong to it's register.  I think de la deconne as stated by HRHRemy is more correct.  Badiner means to be coquettish for me.  Being comically spiteful verbally is more what banter signifies for me.  Perhaps it's a word that English speakers solely get.  

It's semantics and I really do feel you have to be that language speaker on a native level and have lived in the country for some period of time if you are not to understand the nuances and idiom as with any language.


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## petit1

On a bien déconné hier soir, hein?
On s'est bien éclatés hier soir, hein?
On a bien fait les cons hier soir, non?


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## Lucania

I see that the connotations of the word banter are different in the UK as opposed to the US. Although banter's most basic meaning, as we've covered, is essentially an exchange of witty dialogue with some air of humor - the demographic who uses it and the perception of this rhetorical device is different in our respective nations. 

In the US, the use of the term at its lowest form can apply to members of a sports team for sure or a comedy troup or even a group of drunkards, but that has a lower standard of wit (varying upon the comedy troup/group of drunkards, of course) whereas outside of that context, banter demands charm, humour and wit. Banter at a dinner party persay or another good example: a flirtatious exchange, with the most important part being the back and forth element and the mutual understanding of what's going on, a subtle show/ruse of sorts - teasing is not a necessity, but riffing on something is. So in that way, banter can be and is, by some, associated with high class well to do folks and in turn, the word is used in varying degrees of seriousness ranging up to utter sarcasm among younger adults, with the implication that only the highest quality of banter/witticisms be tolerated in high society.


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## petit1

Lucania, whe I suggested "déconner" (which is not part of my usual vocabulary) I was complying with what *Vincent7520* and *Syayae* explained:


> _it makes me think of very poorly educated people who think banter justifies being rude ..._


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## vincent7520

Lucania said:


> I see that the connotations of the word banter are different in the UK as opposed to the US.



Thank you so much to focus on the English (vs. American) aspect of the word. To me "banter" didn't go above the good old beer drinking party !!!…
I learned a lot !


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## HRHRemy

Cheers! I , myself enjoy a good quality bants 

And with hindsight, I agree, it is not specific to the English middle-class, everyone can enjoy quality banter, the Australians are pro at sarcastic banter too!!


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## RTACCI

Quality banter = Bonne déconnade = Gros délire = K.O de rire in french slang.


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## joelooc

I agree with "déconner" "déconnade" in a british context. I have come across the word many times about rock shows in which "banter(ing)" refers to the members of a band rapping (borrowed from AmE) for fun in between numbers with or without the audience understanding what they're talking about.


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