Dorothy Parker, a contributor to the New Yorker magazine in the 1940s, once went to a party with a male friend of hers. He had a snobbish personality and found the games being played at the party ‘childish’. On being asked by Dorothy the reason for his aloofness, he replied ‘I can’t bear fools’. Dorothy shot back saying ‘Apparently your mother could’.

Words hold the distinction in their ability to batter bores, demolish detractors and petrify predators besides bashing bullies and ostracizing offenders. Who can ever claim to have never encountered a situation where saying the right words saved the day? The fact is that it is happening in such a frenzied frequency that being caught unaware to the remark of a callous colleague, sinister spouse, pedantic parent, anarchic adolescent, bossy boss, prowling paramour or a desperate douche-bag is an every day occurrence.

Remember, that your wit is your arsenal. And just like any ammunition, it needs to be repeatedly tested to ensure it works when needed. Amongst the greatest phobias that human-beings have is the fear of failure which includes the ability to come up with a befitting response when engaged in a verbal duel. As it often happens, we don’t choose our circumstances, they hunt us down.

Scoreven because the bully should feel like bull-shit