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barb

WritingAPuppy

Senior Member
canada mandarin
Hi. Context: "his jokes always have a barb".

Could someone give me a real-life example of what a "barb" is, please?

Thanks.
A barb is a cutting or pointed remark intended to inflict pain. One such barb:

Bessie Braddock to Winston Churchill (annoyed): "Winston, you're drunk!"
Churchill replies: "Bessie, you're ugly, and tomorrow I'll be sober."
The dictionary defines it, but doesn't give a real-life example of it. I think having an example would help me learn it better than just reading a bunch of abstract texts.

From Dictionary.com:

"an obviously or openly unpleasant or carping remark. "

When reading definitions such as this in the dictionary, it might be helpful not to view them as "abstract texts". There seems to be nothing too equivocal or abstract about this definition and I think that you would be able to imagine what an openly unpleasant remark might be.
This term "barb" is found in wry humor. To the born-agains who pester me because I have free thinking tendencies I have this response, "Well, thank God I'm an atheist." or, "I see your aunt died of bigotry."
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