1636 The Baltic war gives us an example with a self-insult:
Jeff: Just explaining how it happens that at the tender age of twenty-one I'm more suspicious than your average retired cop. Gretchen: I said, stop bragging.
The Alex Rider series' final book, "Scorpia Rising", has this: a captured french agent calls Razim insane, and he calmly replies that a little bit of madness is important for scientific research.
In Atlas Shrugged, a liberal reporter calls banker Michael Mulligan by the supposed slur of "Midas Mulligan" because of Mulligan's ability to make money on his bank's investments — as opposed to making investments for socially worthy purposes which might not be profitable — and the nickname sticks to him. Mulligan likes it so much he has his name legally changed to Midas Mulligan.
Beware of Chicken: The Xong brothers are good friends of Hong Meiling, but also quite familiar with her sharp tongue and strong opinions, so when her father asks them to chaperone his "flower" for a visit to Jin, Xong Gou Ren jokes that she could only be a bunch of thistles. When Jin hears about it, he uses the term to praise her.
Jin: A thistle, huh? I can see it. Medicinal. Tough enough to grow anywhere. And really, they are truly beautiful flowers, the same colour as her eyes.
"Clockpunk and the Vitalizer" has a mild version, in which a news reporter refers to The Vitalizer as a "sociopath unchained" and "greed-drive asshole." The Vitalizer apparently (as far as Clockpunk can tell) responds with interest.
In Roger Zelazny's Creatures of Light and Darkness, Wakim is showing a distressingly cavalier attitude towards the plague-killed corpse (on a world with no disease and very little death) that he and a woman have discovered.
Megra: You are a deviant from the social norm! Wakim: Is that an insult or a diagnosis?
Early in Cursor's Fury, third book of the Codex Alera, Tavi dubs the incompetent Knights in the legion, "Knights Pisces," after the joke that an untrained soldier flops around like a landed fish. The Knights adopt the name in earnest after Tavi pulls a trick with some sharks, explaining that you'll be surprised just how much damage a fish can do.
Lord Rust calls Sir Samuel Vimes "a thief-taker — nothing more". This is what finally makes Vimes sail for Klatch instead of remaining in Ankh, since he iS a thief-taker and takes pride in his work. Which leads to stopping the war Rust wanted.
It backfires again for Rust when he contemptuously refers to Vimes as "not a gentleman", with all the venom he can muster. Vimes' response?
Vimes: I knew there was something about me I liked.
In Feet of Clay, Vetinari says, "What a nasty suspicious mind you have, Vimes," and Vimes thanks him. It was probably intended as a bit of a compliment in the first place anyway. Played with when Vetinari tells Vimes he has "the mind of a true policeman" when Vimes continues being Properly Paranoid, Vimes thanks him, and Vetinari asks if that's even a compliment.
In Monstrous Regiment, Borogravian propaganda has attempted to tarbrush Vimes as "Vimes The Butcher". However, the Borogravian people, spotting that Ankh-Morpork and her allies are getting closer to curb-stomping Borogravia by the day, take the epithet to mean that Vimes is a skilled and ruthless commander rather than a slavering psychopath (which was the intent). Vimes himself just finds the whole thing morbidly hilarious, though a bit peeved that they haven't actually made up any war crimes to accuse him of.
In David Eddings' Domes of Fire, Stragen takes the Styric Council to task for not being more proactive in the emerging crisis in Daresia. When one of the Councillors calls him a bastard, he glibly confirms that he is the illegitimate son of a nobleman. He then proceeds to point out he is also a swindler, murderer, and thief... and that someone like him is still doing more good for Daresia than the Council has deigned to.
In the beginning of Dragon Bones, Ward pretends to be very dumb, so every time someone calls him stupid, he's rather relieved that his plan is still working. Later, when he thinks about the king, he notes what a blood-thirsty, sadistic and overall nasty coward king Jakoven is, and then adds that his own father (who was similar) would probably have liked the king if he wasn't such a coward.
"The man asked [Angel] how it felt to have a face that looked like a cow had trampled on it. He said "Like this!". Then he broke the man's nose."
In Excession, a particularly nasty race gets referred to as "an affront to civilization" after eating an group of foreign diplomats. They're absolutely delighted and officially change the name of their species to the Affront.note Truth in Television: this is one theory of how the Apache got their name, though there's no real consensus on whether the theory is accurate.
Invoked in The Fountainhead by Dominique. She writes what looks like savage criticism of Howard Roark, but she intends that Roark get the hidden meaning that his buildings are too good for the city.
The horseman of the apocalypse Famine is killing time by running an Expy of the Burger King, and buys a meal to check that it indeed has no nutritional value and throws it away uneaten. Though it doesn't happen, it's mentioned that if anyone who saw that reminded him that children were starving in Africa, he'd be pleased you noticed.
Madame Tracy doesn't care that Shadwell calls her a harlot or a Jezebel, partially because he Hates Everyone Equally, and partially because she's not the least bit ashamed of her status as a semi-retired Hooker with a Heart of Gold. Him calling her a whore at the top of his voice is basically just free advertising as far as she's concerned.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: Before a Quidditch match, Malfoy taunts Harry with "Shame [your broom] doesn't come with a parachute — in case you get too near a dementor." Harry retorts, "Pity you can't attach an extra arm to yours, Malfoy, then it could catch the Snitch for you." The Gryffindor team laughs and Malfoy shuts up.
The "Weasley is Our King" song is at first used by the Slytherins to mock Ron's sub-par Quidditch playing, but is later used by the Gryffindors to praise his Quidditch playing once he proves himself to be quite good at it. Doubles as a Triumphant Reprise.
When Alpha Bitch Pansy Parkinson sneers at Harry that Warrington was going to knock him off his broom, Harry calmly retorts that Warrington's aim was so poor he'd be more worried if Warrington wasn't aiming for him. Parkinson shuts up after that.
In Jon Berkely's The Hidden Boy, the main characters practice "Mumbo Jumbo," a sort of listening-to-the-land that allows them to know many things. The term was actually created by the Gummint (government) to try to de-value the practice, but the practitioners embraced the term and it lost all its sting.
Highlights for Children: In one "Ask Arizona" story, two mean girls called the Fashion Police insult a girl wearing a yellow outfit and call her a "giant ugly banana." After overhearing this, Arizona and her friends make buttons proclaiming themselves to be members of the Ugly Banana Club and wear them the next day.
His Dark Materials: Invoked by Sir Charles Latrom, a minor villain. When Lyra explains the concept of daemons (animal-shaped embodiments of a soul) to him, she tells him that his daemon would be a dung beetle. He responds that if the Ancient Egyptians were content to be represented by such a creature, then he has no problem with it. It turns out that he actually is from Lyra's world, and therefore does have a daemon: a snake.
Jedi Academy Trilogy: In I, Jedi, a drunken pilot attempts to insult Corran Horn. Corran, recognizing this for the provocation it is, tells the man off for his lousy attempt and offers some more imaginative Corellian jokes instead.note Corran himself is Corellian.
X-Wing Series: Garik “Face” Loran used to be a famous child actor in the Empire’s propaganda movies before defecting and eventually becoming a New Republic fighter pilot. Given his history, numerous Imperial characters try to insult him by claiming that his movies were awful. Face’s usual retort is to agree that the movies were terribly-written pieces of crap; those were Imperial productions, after all.
Clotaldo: Why, this is madness! Rosaura: Yes it is.
The Truax was written as a response to The Lorax by people who thought the message was anti-logging. But the real message of The Lorax was pro-sustainability; or, to put it another way, they responded to the book by rewriting it so that it sucked.
Lobelia Sackville-Baggins: You don't belong here; you're no Baggins - you - you're a Brandybuck! Frodo Baggins: Did you hear that Merry? That was an insult, if you like. [shuts the door in her face] Merry Brandybuck: It was a compliment, and so, of course, not true.
Zyzll: I don't trust her. Tweent: She's a drow. Don't trust her. She won't be offended. In fact, she may feel quite honored.
Throughout most of The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Riddle of Ages, Sticky asks his friends to call him by his real name of George, trying to become more adult by shedding his nickname. At one point, during a heated discussion, Constance refers to him as "George," it being an old habit of hers to try to needle him using his real name. Far from being insulted, he instead thanks her for remembering to use his real name, despite her obvious irritation with him.
In the Prince Roger series, one of the supporting characters is a Satanist. Her (originally Catholic) planet got this way during a religious civil war, in which one side demonized the other as Satanists. The other side accepted and maintained the term, having decided that given the evil of their opponents, Satan must actually be good.
In Warrior Cats, Blackstar at one point starts going on and on about how generous ThunderClan was to give up a piece of territory, and how much good use ShadowClan has been getting out of it as a hunting ground, using the concession as an opportunity to mock ThunderClan for weakness. Firestar, who had simply not thought the piece of territory important enough to fight for, responds: "I'm glad to hear that you are getting so much out of a piece of land prey-poor by ThunderClan standards." Blackstar is not amused.
In a meta example, when The Wasp Factory first came out, The Irish Times' review of it called it "a work of unparalleled depravity." The paperback edition gleefully used this as a cover blurb.
Chaka: Jade, you're a sick, sick girl. Generator: Thanks, Toni!
From Silver Linings 1 (Part 4), used by Herb Tellock to Karen Wickham, comparing Goodkind-owned businesses with Wickham-owned businesses, which she turns back on him, as shown here, with bolding substituting for underling:
“You’re talking about setting Humanity First! up as a privately run inquisition with de facto official powers, and no need to answer to City Hall, the Law or the Electorate, and don’t tell me that Humanity First! doesn’t work that way, because I know better.” Herb started to rebut that, but Karen mercilessly cut him off again. “MISTER TELLOCK, no matter what you say, Humanity First! is joined at the hip with the Goodkinds. The Goodkinds have been using Humanity First! as a Trojan horse for years, and using you people to pressure local businesses into toeing the Goodkind line, or else.”
“Businesses like the hundred or so Wickham-owned and run firms around the Tri-State area?” Tellock asked archly.
“Precisely,” Karen purred with an acid smile. “And don’t tell me that the Goodkinds are good people. I know the smell of them; they smell just like my family - a pack of sharks with sharp teeth and big appetites. However, we’re local sharks, and we know where the bodies are buried.”
, when Jade has just proposed tormenting Nightbane (after Nightbane had a big run-in with Carmilla and her Combat Tentacles):Chaka: Jade, you're a sick, sick girl.