More Proof That Saying The Word “Banter” Is No Banter

Hearing the word "banter" makes us want to cry more than ANY Adele song.  It's one of those terms that was funny for a minute in 2013 but that people will just not let go of. We've now heard it and variations of it so many times that we've forgotten what it means. According to Google Trends, the word hit its peak in 2014, and is finally on the decline, but according to the folk over at i100, the word is NOT a new thing - in fact it's been wrecking heads for over 300 years.

Jonathan Swift attempted to kill the word "banter" 300 years ago. He knew what was coming. pic.twitter.com/inxaMyagoy

— Letters of Note (@LettersOfNote) October 23, 2015

Back in 1710, the author of Gullivers Travels, Jonathan Swift, wrote about his dislike of the word in The Tatler, describing it as “the continual corruption of our English tongue”. The word came into existence in the late seventeenth century to describe a "violent or boisterous exchange" according to the site. Ironic, as we experience a violent pain in the ass anytime someone says it.