🇬🇧🚨 IMPORTANT British Culture Lesson - Respond to teasing with CLEVER comebacks! (Banter!)

Hello, lovely students, and welcome back to English with Lucy.

Today, we're focusing on an extremely important aspect of English fluency and

British culture—the art of playful  teasing and clever comebacks.

This type of interaction plays such a big role in our culture.

We love a good back-and-forth, so I think it's important that you understand how to

recognise these types of interactions so that you can navigate them comfortably.

If you have no idea what I'm talking about and why you need this lesson,

here's a quick example.

Imagine you and your friends decide to

spend an evening doing karaoke.

One of your friends, despite her

enthusiasm, doesn't quite hit the right notes when singing.

After her performance, she asks, 'So, how was it?', and you respond with, 'Don't give

up your day job!'—suggesting that she's better off continuing with her current

profession rather than starting a career as a singer.

This is an example of playful teasing.

It's a way to add a bit of humour and

irony into a potentially awkward situation, usually without the intent to

offend, and Brits happen to love it.

Now, I feel a certain sense of

responsibility here, so before we get started with the lesson, I want to make a

few things very clear.

Humour and teasing are subjective, and

teasing crosses into bullying when you are purposefully trying to hurt someone's

feelings, and that is never acceptable.

You must always consider the feelings of

others and err on the side of caution if you're unsure how your words might be received.

It's entirely possible that someone might laugh on the outside while feeling

extremely uncomfortable on the inside.

I think most of us will know what that

feels like, so let's bear that in mind during this lesson.

I also want to make sure you get the most out of today’s lesson, so I’ve created a 

free PDF that walks you through each  scenario we are about to cover in detail, 

making sure you understand the dynamics of play.

I've also added a section with phrases 

you can use if teasing ever  makes you uncomfortable.

Remember, it's really important to voice your feelings if a situation just doesn't

sit right with you.

If you'd like to download that, just

click on the link in the description box or type the link that I'm showing on

screen, enter your name and email address, and you will join the free PDF club.

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You can unsubscribe at any time.

This lesson is going to be fairly advanced.

I'm going to speak at a nice, natural

pace, and I'm going to use some pretty advanced vocabulary.

I want to focus on the teasing and comebacks in this video, so I'll go into

more detail on the vocabulary in the PDF.

There's a nice list there of all the

phrases I use that you might not recognise.

Okay, let's listen to a conversation

between two friends who decide to participate in a local pub quiz, a very

popular activity in the UK.

After we finish listening, I'll break

down the examples of teasing and witty comebacks to help you understand the

dynamics of such exchanges.

Okay, time for the first part of the conversation.

'Oh, look! There’s a pub quiz on tonight.

Fancy joining?

You’re having a laugh, aren’t you?

I’m terrible at trivia!

You and me both, mate!

Alright! I’m in for a few pints but

this trivia business is all you.

No worries, I’ve got this!

I crush it on Trivia Crack.

I’ll bet you do — you and your trusty

pal, Google.

I bet that sounded a lot

funnier in your head.

You know you love it!

Oh, for sure! It’s what holds our friendship

together: you joking

and me pretending it’s funny.

Well, keep pretending.

I don’t think my ego could take it.

You got it, mate. That’s

what friends are for.'

Okay, let's look at the first one.

'You're having a laugh, aren't you?'

This is a classic and one that you need to have at the ready.

So when someone says something totally wild or unbelievable and you assume they

are joking, you can hit them with 'You're having a laugh, aren't you?'

It's like saying, 'Come on, you can't be serious!'

I'll also provide a few more common

phrases that you might hear in the PDF.

When Alex says this 'You and me both,

mate,' it's his quick, friendly way of letting Jamie know that neither of them

is exactly a quiz master.

'You and me both' is a common phrase

meaning, 'I feel the same way' or 'we're in the same situation.'

Alex is basically saying, 'Don't worry about it, mate. We're going to be bad at

this together.'

It's a bit of self-deprecating humour,

which is a way of making fun of yourself or downplaying your abilities for the

sake of the joke.

It's quite common in these  kinds of back-and-forths 

with friends.

Another thing I will point out, because

some of you might have noticed it, I said /meɪ/, not /meɪt/.

It's quite common to say 'ma' instead of 'mate', dropping the 'T' at the end.

'Mate, what are you doing?'

When Jamie says this, 'I'll bet you do —

you and your trusty pal, Google,' she's using sarcasm to tease Alex about his

confidence in winning the pub quiz.

The sarcasm here implies that Jamie

doesn't genuinely believe Alex is a trivia expert.

Instead, she humorously suggests that he's more of an expert Googler.

It's a playful way to call out Alex's sudden burst of confidence and adds

another layer of fun to their teasing.

Jamie doesn't genuinely believe Alex is a

cheat, but it makes for a funny joke in the moment.

Now, as a witty response, a witty comeback, Alex said, 'I bet that sounded a

lot funnier in your head.'

'I bet that sounded a lot funnier in your

head' is a cheeky way to acknowledge someone's poor attempt at humour.

And it can definitely lighten the mood and get a good laugh, especially when

you're in a social setting and the vibes are good.

Note that it is cheeky.

I would not recommend trying this out

with people you've just met.

It probably won't go down very well.

Jamie fired back at Alex by saying, 'You know you love it.'

It's something you can say after teasing someone.

It's like a nudge, saying that they

actually enjoy the teasing and the jokes, all in good fun.

Now, Alex shooting back with, 'Oh, for sure!

It's what holds our friendship together:

you joking and me pretending it's funny.'

It's a fantastic example of the playful

teasing I've been talking about.

Alex jokingly suggests that their

friendship is based on Jamie making jokes that aren't really funny, and Alex

pretending that they are.

This isn't to be taken literally, it's an

affectionate way of acknowledging their dynamic where teasing and joking are part

of how they express their affection for each other.

It highlights a common aspect of close friendships, the ability to tease each

other in a loving way.

Finally, Jamie continues with Alex's joke

by saying this:

'Well, keep pretending.

I don't think my ego could take it.'

It's another example of self-deprecating humour.

Here, Jamie is jokingly suggesting that her ego or sense of self-esteem is so

fragile that she relies on  Alex's pretend laughter.

It's a funny, exaggerated way of saying

that she values Alex's playful support, even if it's all pretend.

Now, if you're enjoying learning these bits of British teasing and want to

practise using them in your own conversations, the best way to do that is

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Okay, let's listen to part two of the

conversation between Jamie and Alex at the pub quiz.

'First question!

What's the longest river in the UK?

Oh, too easy!

Oh yeah?

How about we make this interesting?

If you get this wrong, you buy the next

two rounds.

Ha! Deal —

piece of cake.

It's the River Thames!

The correct answer is… the River Severn.

Nice one, genius!

Oh, alright, Einstein!

Let's see how you do with the next one.

Please. Stick with me, and you might learn a thing or two.

Oh, I highly doubt that!

Me too!'

Okay, first, Jamie says...

'Oh yeah?'

This is Jamie's playful way of doubting Alex's confidence.

It's like saying, 'Really?

Are you sure about that?'

Jamie is challenging Alex's assurance, subtly teasing him by questioning his

certainty about knowing the answer.

'Oh yeah' is a very common expression,

often used to express a hint of sarcasm, which we love in the UK.

Next, Alex's confidence is showing in full force when he says this...

'Ha! Deal —

piece of cake.'

He uses the idiom, 'a piece of cake.'

This idiom means that an action is so

simple and requires so little effort that success is basically guaranteed.

Alex is saying that he thinks winning the bet will be super easy because of his

superior trivia knowledge, which doesn't really turn out to be true, does it?

After Alex's incorrect answer, Jamie's response is dripping with irony.

She's being extremely sarcastic.

She says...

'Nice one, genius.'

She calls Alex a genius right after he

gets the answer wrong.

The irony here is that Jamie is not

actually complimenting him because what she actually means is the opposite.

Ironically calling someone a genius after they've done something stupid

accomplishes a similar goal, but it keeps everything lighter and more playful.

Next, Alex flips the script and replies with...

'Oh, alright, Einstein!'

'Oh, alright, Einstein,' calling Jamie

Einstein sarcastically after being teased about his intelligence.

Using Einstein's name, a symbol of high intellect, as a sarcastic remark is his

way of saying, 'Okay, well, if you're so clever, let's see if you can do better.'

It's a nice back-and-forth that sticks to the same theme of being intelligent.

Finally, Jamie finishes with...

'Please.

Stick with me, and you might learn a thing or two.'

Which is her way of rubbing it in as she knows more about British trivia than Alex.

She jokingly says that just by Alex being around her, he will learn many new things

because of her vast experience.

When Jamie says she can teach Alex

something and Alex responds with...

'Oh, I

highly doubt that!'

He's playfully saying, 'I don't think I'm

going to learn anything from you.'

And this statement is a straightforward

denial that he could learn anything from Jamie, but it's still in a joking manner.

It's more of a playful disbelief in Jamie's expertise or knowledge.

It's a continuation of their friendly teasing, keeping their conversation nice

and lively.

'Highly doubt' is also a strong collocation

that you will hear quite often to express disbelief or strong doubt.

I'll provide a few examples in that PDF.

For example, 'I highly doubt she'll be there,'

or 'We can try your plan but I highly doubt it'll work.'

Jamie ends their back-and-forth by agreeing with Alex's doubt when she says,

'Me too!' which is a bit self-deprecating.

She's saying, 'Yeah, you're probably right.

I don't have much to teach.'

This wraps up the playful exchange with a

shared laugh, stepping back from the teasing.

It's always good to know when teasing and

joking around has gone on long enough.

At a certain point, you know it's time to

call it quits.

And this kind of agreement is a great way

of saying, 'Alright, enough teasing.

It's time to move on before one of us

gets annoyed.'

Right. That brings us to the end of today's lesson.

Remember, if you want to take your

learning even further, don't forget to download that PDF.

The link is in the description box, or you can use the link on screen now.

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I will see you soon for another lesson!

Muah!