Trash talk

“Trash talk” refers to insulting, derogatory, or boastful language that one person directs toward another, often a rival or a competitor.

This phrase is often associated with competitive sports, where members of one team would tease or taunt the members of another team. The purpose is to provoke an emotional response by upsetting or annoying the other side. If you upset the other side, then you might get an advantage for yourself.

Trash talk can happen in any arena where there’s a competition. Elon Musk is one of the internet’s biggest trash talkers: he’s not shy about insulting rivals. Donald Trump is a trash talker, too: he uses insults to gain an advantage in politics.

In today’s lesson, I said that Elon Musk engaged in “predictable trash talk.” I won’t repeat what he said here, but it was insulting and derogatory.