Insult Backfire - Television Tropes & Idioms

In Crest Of The Stars, Admiral Spoor's chief of staff is rather appalled at her attitude during combat and calls her Lady of Chaos - a title which she immediately adopts.
Zelgadis from Slayers is always pleased when someone calls him a heartless magic-using swordsman. He's trying to cultivate the image.
In Nadia The Secret Of Blue Water, the titular character snaps at Gargoyle by shouting "You're inhuman!!" (literally, in Japanese, "You're not human"). Of course, thinking he's a Sufficiently Advanced Alien and all, he thanks her affably for the compliment. The funny thing is, it eventually turns out that he's a human after all.
A similar but less affable example occurs in Trigun: right after the Big Fall, Vash yells at his brother Knives that he's inhuman / not human. The latter proceeds to beat him up for daring suggest that he might be similar in any way to such inferior beings.
- The same character presents a similar reaction when Vash calls him a calamity at the end of the first manga. While he is peeved at the fact that Vash is insulting him, he is proud of being a calamity to humans and proceeds to prove it.
- A variant happens when Vash yells at Legato "From now on, YOU are the hunted!" and the latter answers with a creepy happy smile.
In Mobile Suit Gundam, when Prince Gihren has his father Sovereign Degwin telling him "You're like Adolf Hitler" when they discuss how much of a Nietzsche Wannabe he is, Gihren says he takes that as a compliment.
The Yu-Gi-Oh GX dub:
Reggie: You're a nasty, stuck-up snob! And no one here likes you!
Chazz: I'm waiting for the insult.
In an episode of Pokemon, a character of the week attempted to insult Misty by claiming that she was as beautiful as a Tentacruel. Tentacruel just so happens to be one of Misty's most desired Pokemon.
- ...Is it now?
Inverted in Bleach:
Renji: (after completely destroying the chamber) So... how was it(my tactic)?
Ishida: That's something Kurosaki would have done.
Renji: Don't say that! It's almost an insult.
Ishida: It WAS an insult!
Afro Samurai has this exchange between Sio and Dharman:
Sio: "You're a wicked twisted, shit-faced genius scientist. You'll burn in Hell for your crimes against nature.
Dharman: "You praise me so wonderfully, Lady Sio! I am not worthy of your poetry!"

Close Anime & Manga

The Joker in Batman is always some combination of a Mad Hatter and a Card Carrying Villain, so he gets to do this a lot. For example, in Arkham Asylum
Batman: Filthy degenerate!
Joker: Flattery will get you nowhere.
- On The Batman.
  Joker: Diagnosis! Stat!
  Doctor: You need rest! You're a very sick man!
  Joker: Flattery won't save you!
- Batman: The Long Halloween
  Batman: You're insane!
  Joker: Has it really taken you this long to notice?
- An early version of this (at least for the Joker), from Batman #321.
  Robin: You're out of your mind, Joker!
  Joker: Gloriously so! Isn't it wonderful?
- And an even earlier example in The Joker's Five-Way Revenge (Batman #251). Yeah, the Joker really likes this trope.
  Batman: Joker — you realize you're utterly... hopelessly... insane!
  Joker: It's my most charming trait!
- Subverted, however, in The Dark Knight.
  Gambol: You're crazy.
  Joker: I'm not... No, I'm not.
Wanted
Adam One: Fuck you, you fascist bastard.
The Future: You say fascist like it's some kind of insult, but people love fascists, man. You ever meet a woman who fantasized about being tied up and raped by a liberal?
- Probably a paraphrase of P.J. O'Rourke. "I have often been called a Nazi... I don't let it bother me for one simple reason. No one has ever had a fantasy about being tied to a bed and sexually ravished by someone dressed as a liberal."
- Don't forget Mr. Rictus reply to Wesley calling him a "goatfucker."
"I do not fuck goats, Mr. Gibson. I make love to them."

Close Comic Books

The strip Garfield employs this from time to time. One notable variation has Jon flatly saying "I don't think you could get any fatter."- which causes Garfield's eyes to widen as he dashes to the refrigerator. "That wasn't a challenge!"
- One exchange between Jon and Garfield goes like this:
  Jon: "You have many flaws, Garfield."
  Garfield: "Thank you!"
  Jon: "One of which is thinking that insults are compliments."
  Garfield: "You're too kind."
Dilbert:
Dilbert: That is the most cynical thing I've ever heard in my life!
Dogbert: Thanks. I'm blushing.
- And:
  Dilbert: Dogbert, that is the vainest, most superficial thing I've ever heard!
  Dogbert: *Wagging* Thank you.
Sovisa has had a version of this crop up a few times as a running gag between Alexi and Travis. It typically follows a pattern like this:
Travis: [Disparaging comment] (he makes a lot of these)
Alexi: No you're [Same disparaging comment]
Travis: I hate it when that stupid comeback works...

Close Newspaper Comics

Groucho Marx always responded to an accurate insult with the famous phrase: "Why, I resemble that remark!"
Beauty And The Beast; because Gaston has the vocabulary of a third-grader and tends to hear only what he wants to:
Belle: Gaston, you're positively primeval.
Gaston: Well, thank you Belle.
She looks suitably disgusted.
In Trading Places, corporate bigwig brothers Mortimer and Randolph Duke argue over a meager sum of money, leadin to:
Randolph: Mother always said you were greedy.
Mortimer: She meant it as a compliment.
Broken Arrow
Riley Hale: You're out of your mind.
Vic Deakins: Yeah. Ain't it cool?
Fox's Robots
Bigweld: Gasket, you're a sick, twisted, evil robot.
Madame Gasket: I try.
Quest for Camelot has this:
Juliana: You're mad!
Sir Ruber: I'm so glad you noticed! I've been working at it for years!
Wet Hot American Summer: "Douchebags are hygienic products. I take that as a compliment."
Kung Fu Panda
Tai Lung: You can't defeat me! You're just a big, fat panda!
Po: I'm not just a big, fat panda. I'm the big, fat panda!
Road To El Dorado, amidst much Flynning:
Miguel: You fight like my sister!
Tulio: I've fought your sister, that's a compliment!
The Fifth Element
Father Cornelius: You're a monster, Zorg.
Zorg: (*smiles*) I know.
The Shadow
Lamont Cranston: You are a barbarian.
Shiwan Khan: Thank you.
Hocus Pocus
Billy: Go to hell!
Winnie: I've been there, thank you. I find it quite lovely.
Happy Gilmore
Shooter: I eat pieces of shit like you for breakfast!
Happy: You eat pieces of shit for breakfast?
Shooter: .......No!
This memorable line from Star Wars:
Leia: (I think you are a nice guy) ...occasionally, maybe, when you don't act as a scoundrel.
Han: Scoundrel? Scoundrel... I like the sound of that.
Jack Sparrow does this in At World's End when he replies to a declaration of "You're MAD!" by saying "Thank goodness for that, because if I wasn't, this would probably never work."

Close Film

Of course, Shakespeare did it too, with Dogberry in Much Ado About Nothing. Note, however, that this is because Dogberry doesn't understand he's being insulted.
Leonato: Neighbours, you are tedious.
Dogberry: It pleases your worship to say so, but we are the poor duke's officers; but truly, for mine own part, if I were as tedious as a king, I could find it in my heart to bestow it all of your worship.
The running gag of Shakespeare's Falstaff was the fact he was a drunken, bawdy, cowardly, charismatic, corpulent thief/scoundrel/adventurer, and loved being one out loud.
Calderon's Life is a Dream:
Clotaldo: Why, this is madness!
Rosaura: Yes it is.
To Kill A Mockingbird applies this when Atticus is called a "nigger-lover."
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 Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows, Hermione reappropriates the Fantastic Slur for wizards of impure blood, declaring herself to be "Mudblood and proud of it!"

Close Literature

Star Trek The Original Series "Court Martial":
McCoy: You are the most cold-blooded person I've ever met.
Spock: Why thank you, Doctor.
- McCoy has just walked in on Spock playing 3D chess against the computer while Kirk is facing some serious criminal charges. It is revealed that Spock was testing a hypothesis that the computer he was playing against had been tampered with, producing some false evidence framing Kirk. He was correct.
- In "The Return of the Archons":
  Spock: I prefer the concrete, the graspable, the provable.
  Kirk: You would make a splendid computer, Mr. Spock.
  Spock: That is very kind of you, Captain.
- Lampshaded in Star Trek V The Final Frontier:
  Spock: As you are so fond of pointing out, Doctor, I am half human.
  McCoy: Well, it certainly doesn't show.
  Spock: Thank you.
  McCoy: How do you like that? This guy never changes. I insult him and he takes it as a compliment.
The Muppet Show had such an exchange between Sam the Eagle and Alice Cooper:
Sam: Mr. Cooper.
Alice: Yes?
Sam: Let me come right to the point. You, sir, are a demented, sick, degenerate, barbaric, naughty... freako.
Alice: Why, thank you.
Sam: (sigh) Freakos, 1 - Civilization, 0.
Alice turns to the camera, then licks his finger and holds it up for the gesture of "one point to me".
In the Doctor Who episode "The Sound of Drums", The Master, upon being accused of insanity, just gives a thumbs up.
- Similarly, in "The Lazarus Experiment", Tish calls the Doctor a "science geek," and when Martha explains that it means he's "obsessively enthusiastic about it," the Doctor's flattered.
- And waaaay back in "The Ultimate Foe", Mel calls the Master "utterly evil" after learning his plot. His response? What else? "Thank you." Simple, but cute.
- Ha! You kids! In the serial "The Time Monster" (a full couple of decades before your "waaaay back"), the Master completely annihilates the Doctor (Jon Pertwee). Companion Jo Grant remarks that it was the most brutal, inhuman, monstrous thing she had ever seen. The Master gives a nod and says "Thank You" as if he were accepting a compliment on his new suit. (Roger Delgado was The Master, accept no substitutes).
  - On the other hand, after it turns out the Doctor isn't dead the Master is somewhat lost for words (see Cargo Cult).
- "You speak treason!" "FLUENTLY!"
  - Hey, they lifted that one from the Errol Flynn film The Adventures of Robin Hood.
From Will And Grace:
Jack: You're evil and shallow.
Karen: Compliments? So early in the day?
Mystery Science Theater 3000 used this trope as one of Dr. Forrester and Dr. Erhardt's catchphrases in the first and "zeroth" season, before it petered out later on. Joel would call them mad, or tell them that they were tampering in God's domain, or some such, and they would reply, in unison, "Thank you!"
- Earth vs. the Spider, largely considered an early years Shout Out by the fans, shows Dr. Forrester and TV's Frank using this phrase, only to look confused at the occurrence immediately after. (This episode also contained an explicit reference to Dr. Erhardt, who was put on a bus between seasons one and two, and the a sketch of the 'Bots being given RAM chips as rewards for complimenting the film—a running gag that had been long since phased out.)
House had plenty. Such as:
Dr. Wilson: That smugness of yours really is an attractive quality.
Dr. House: Thank you. It was either that or get my hair highlighted. Smugness is easier to maintain.
...
Dr. Wilson: Be yourself: cold, uncaring, distant.
Dr. House: Please, don't put me on a pedestal.
From Red Dwarf
Rimmer: You're totally egocentric, you flee at the first sign of danger, you only look after number one, you're vain, you're selfish, you're narcissistic and you're self-obsessed.
The Cat: You just listed all my best features.
- And in another episode, after Rimmer double-crosses them:
  Lister: "...you're a total scum-sucking, two-faced, weaselly weasel!"
  Rimmer: "Ah, my entry in "Who's Who."" [Walks out]
Life On Mars:
Gene Hunt: I think you've forgotten who you're talking to!
Sam Tyler: An overweight, over-the-hill, nicotine-stained, borderline-alcoholic homophobe with a superiority complex and an unhealthy obsession with male bonding?
Gene Hunt: You make that sound like a bad thing.
This example from Angel is somewhere between this trope and a Stealth Insult depending on how mean it was meant to be (probably not very given the person speaking). When Harmony Kendall goes to see the Host for help she gives a rather painful rendition of "Memories" so that he can read her future from the song. The Host comes to talk to her afterwards and says "I can't help you, my little Cacophany". She's disappointed, then a second later says "Cacophany... thats pretty... what's it mean?"
From the Comic Relief skit with Catherine Tate as Lauren and David Tennant as her English teacher.
Mr Logan: You are the most insolent child I've ever had the misfortune to teach.
Lauren: Thank you.
- Speaking of Tate and Tennant... Well, I could see a similar exchange to that happening in Doctor Who. Both ways.
Dr. Ellingham in Doc Martin on multiple occasions responds to insults with a hasty "thank you". It seems he's either being sarcastic or just saying it to shut people up and get the last word.
From No Heroics episode "Origin and Tonic":
Alex: You look like a right slag today.
Sarah: Aww, cheers, Alex.
- Alex has walked in too late to hear that Sarah's dressing slutty on purpose to annoy her parents, who are visiting the pub.
Monk episode 'Mr. Monk Goes To Vegas':
Natalie: (to Stottlemeyer) He gets hooked on everything. He's the most compulsive person I've ever met!
Monk: Thank you.
- The opposite happens in 'Mr. Monk And His Biggest Fan':
Natalie: Mr. Monk, you're not flustered - you're flattered! Who wouldn't be? She adores you; she knows everything about you. After all, you're only human.
Monk: There's no need for name-calling.
- One episode (can't remember the title) had someone pointing out how lonely Monk must be. His response? "Yes, I am, thank you."

Close Live Action TV

Hip hop example: In the song "Second Round K.O.," Canibus included in his disses of LL Cool J, "99% of your fans wear high heels." The intention was to insinuate that LL was not "hard" enough to appeal to men, but the impact is considerably weakened by the fact that the name "LL Cool J" stands for "Ladies Love Cool James." LL Cool J responded in the song "The Ripper Strikes Back" with the following lyric: "Ask Canibus, he ain't understandin' this/'Cause ninety-nine percent of his fans don't exist."
A musical at Six Flags called "Love at First Fright" featuring an evil sorceress who wanted to hero's brain for her creation. At one point all the protagonists chorus, "WITCH!!" This is followed by a long beat, after which she gleefully replies, "Guilty!"

Close Music

The Goon Show regularly uses these:
Seagoon: You are a coward.
Bloodnock: Seagoon, you surprise me.
Seagoon: Why?
Bloodnock: I didn't know you knew.
- And:
Greenslade: Mr. Eccles, we are not doubting your sincerity for one moment. It's just your intelligence that's in question.
Eccles: Oh... well, I accept your apology.
Inverted on Adventures In Odyssey:
Connie: Why don't you live in a style more befitting your financial status?
Whit: You're beginning to sound like Eugene.
Connie: There's no reason to get insulting.

Close Radio

From Magic: The Gathering, the flavor text for Agent of Masks:
"You say that I am two-faced? Enough with the flattery. We have business to conduct.''

Close Tabletop Games

From Kingdom Hearts II:
Sora: Lowlife!
Hades: Eh, you're too kind, kid.
A complicated version of this trope appears in Tales Of Symphonia between Zelos and Sheena, when Zelos is revealed to have betrayed them all to several enemy factions.
Sheena: I can’t believe you! You were always a pervert, but I never doubted that you were a good person when it came down to it.
Zelos: Why, thank you, my sweet, voluptuous hunny.
- Which would tend to imply he's thanking her for calling him a good liar.
- Spoiler should have covered the entire quote as...well...who else talks like that in game?
There's a longer version of an Insult Backfire in Neverwinter Nights 2 when the player first enters the Sunken Flagon after recruiting Qara (a red-haired sorcerer with a short temper and a penchant for fire spells).
Khelgar Ironfist: By my reckoning, the Flagon's never had a finer table-cleaning goblin-wench.
Qara: What, since your mother lost her job?
Khelgar: Eh? Now don't be bringing my mother into this! You'd best be careful, you simpering little father's girl, or you'll learn a thing or two about Ironfist honour and manhood!
Qara: Oh, you mean the two smallest things in all of Faerûn? From what I hear, no woman could learn about Ironfist manhood from you, Khelgar.
Khelgar: Wh-what?! I'll have you know plenty of women know about Ironfist manhood! Plenty! They just all live up... around Waterdeep... or they'd tell you!
Monkey Island lives this trope, although it's not as much agreeing with the insult as putting a spin on it and coming up with a riposte that literally makes it backfire at the person who made the insult.
You fight like a diary farmer!
How appropriate, you fight like a cow!
- And:
  There are no words for how disgusting you are.
  Yes there are. You just never learned them.
- And
  Have you stopped wearing diapers yet?
  Why, did you want to borrow one?
  - Inspired KingdomOfLoathing's 'Insult Pong'. The player has to match insults against Old Don Rickets, eg:
    When I'm through with ye, ye'll be crying like a little girl!
    It's an honor to learn from such an expert in the field.
In Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney, the Judge tells Alita Tiala that she is not being a good fiance, she responds that she's flattered.
Happens many times on Sam and Max series of games, concerning Max and his tendency for mass destruction, to put things in perspective: when Max is elected President of the United States, Impeach Max Weekly becomes a regular publication, surprisingly Max enjoys reading it.
In ''Sonic Adventure'', Sonic calls Dr. Robotnik an "Eggman" thanks to his obvious love of egg-shaped Giant Mecha. Robotnik spites Sonic and takes it as a term of endearment, asking everyone to call him "Dr. Eggman" from now on. (Er, at least if you played the US version.))

Close Video Games

In Erfworld, shortly after being summoned, Parson is told that he must refer to his lord and master in a respectful manner. He says that in his world, the highest term of respect is "tool"; Stanley the Plaid, being on a quest to gather divine artifacts called the Arkentools adopts "Tool" as his new title.
Professor Madblood's Von Boom award acceptance speech.
Lupin Madblood: [...] I plan to use the cash prize to rebuild my lair, which was destroyed by bumbling buffoons, with the goal of crushing you all beneath my heel. Good night and God bless.
Artie: I have to say, he gave it a lot of class.
Helen B. Narbonic (grinning): He mentioned us!
Dave Davenport: This is the third storyline in a row where I've had to wear a tie.
Brian Clevinger was on the receiving end of this when he published the "ending" to Eight Bit Theater. He subscribes to the philosophy that the funniest jokes are on the audience (thus the bogus No Ending). He expected a deluge of hate mail for that, but found he was on the receiving end of a tidal wave of compliments for writing the perfect ending to the comic. Clevinger was very deeply upset by his audience's reaction.
Happens a lot in Something Positive.

Close Webcomic

In the Bugs Bunny cartoon Devil May Hare, Bugs tries to shoo away a fawn by warning it about the Tasmanian Devil, not realizing that the latter is right behind him:
Bugs: He's a mean, vicious, nasty, no-good, baggy-eyed, marble-headed ignoramorous. He's a stupid... (turning and seeing Taz) Eyee...
Taz: Flattery'll get you nowhere.
Inverted in Futurama Bender is trying to compliment a fellow soldier (Leela in disguise), but doesn't quite grasp the concept:
Bender: You hard fightin', hard fartin', ugly, ugly...
Leela: Stop, stop flattering me!
- Also used by Fry when trying to defend himself and his friends who felt insulted from Leela's new boyfriend dislike of abnormality:
Fry: Zoidberg is a horrible monster who smells like he eats garbage, and does!
Zoidberg: Damn straight!!!
- Why Must I Be a Crustacean in Love? is chock full of these.
Dr. Zoidberg: How do I look?
Bender: Like whale barf.
Dr. Zoidberg: Then the illusion is complete.
Dr. Zoidberg: You seem malnourished. Are you suffering from internal parasites?
Edna: Why, yes! Thanks for noticing!
- Fry: I'm flattered, really. If I was gonna do it with a big freaky mud bug, you'd be way up the list.
  Edna: Hush, you romantic fool.
Avatar The Last Airbender used this with a non-villainous, but rather crazy, old herbalist:
Aang: ...You're insane, aren't you.
Herbalist: That's riiight...
- And then there was the lovely little family reunion between Zuko and his baby sister:
  Zuko: You lied to me!
  Azula: (smugly) Like I've never done that before.
Probably done more than once in The Simpsons, but this example stands out. When Bart was working for money in order to save up for something, he worked at a barber shop. He gets his pay and it's hair instead of money. Bart asks the barber about that and asks if the barber's crazy, and the barber smiles widely and nods, also laughing in a creepy way as a disturbed Bart backs out of the barber shop.
From Fosters Home For Imaginary Friends:
Duchess Obviously they cannot appreciate a true work of art such as myself.
Frankie Oh, you sure are a piece of work.
Duchess Thank you, Frankie.
- Sounds more like "Stealth Insult" to me.
And Justice League had the following exchange between the time-travelling Superman and Vandal Savage, now a few thousand years older and the last human left, stuck on a barren and ruined earth for all eternity:
Superman: You're insane.
Vandal Savage: ...True. But that doesn't mean I'm not good company. Say, you want to come over to my place?
Superman: ...
Vandal Savage: Like you have anything better to do.
Superman The Animated Series, episode "Girls' Night Out". Batgirl and Supergirl fight Livewire, Poison Ivy, and Harley Quinn. Harley rescues Livewire by spraying her with water. Livewire gets up and grabs Harley, preparing to fry her:
Livewire: Are you ''insane''?
Harley Quinn: <thinks hard for several seconds, then smiles broadly> Yes!
Example from The Super Mario Bros Super Show:
Mario: Koopa, you're the meanest, ugliest lizard that ever slimed its way across Cramalot!
Bowser: Flattery will get you nowhere.
Darkwing Duck:
GizmoDuck: I still think your crime fighting style is disreputable, disturbed, and possibly devious.
Darkwing: Well, from you, that's a compliment.
Mildly subverted in Voltron where Allura insults the evil Prince Lotor and Lotor does feel insulted...but for the wrong reasons.
Allura: You're a monster just like your father!
Lotor: That old fool?! Why I'm twice the monster he is!
Used in an episode of Sushi Pack that introduces Sir Darkly, the "source of all sadness in the world."
"Some people call me a jinx. That's so nice of them."

Close Western Animation

Post-Johnson America suffered from a rash of corrupt Republicans in the White House and corrupt Democrats in the cities. Cartoonist John Nast was so disgusted he drew cartoons portraying Republicans as giant elephants fat on their embezzled dollars and Democrats as stubborn donkeys. Guess what happened...
In its early days, Long Beach State University's baseball team was called "dirtbags" because financial circumstances forced it to practice on an all-dirt infield. The insult was re-purposed to be a reflection of hard work and hard-nosed play. It is now an unofficial nickname for the (highly successful) team.
Other Real Life examples include labels such as Gothic, Baroque, Impressionist, Christian, Methodist, Mormon, Prime Minister, and Yankee. They all started out as insults but were adopted by the targets as their own.
- Similarly, the pretty much universal "Tory" for British Conservatives originally meant something like "Papist Irish Bandit". The less well known today, but still embraced "Whig" for a Liberal meant "Puritan Scots Pleb".
  - Puritan was also an insult to begin with, then was accepted by those it targeted.
- Baroque still retains its negative meaning, though, and has even expanded it beyond architecture metaphorically.
Since you mentioned "Yankee", it's worth noting that "Yankee Doodle" was originally written by the British to mock American soldiers. The Americans instead co-opted the song, and it's now one of the most popular American patriotic songs.
- To a far lesser extent, the song "American Woman" (~~also Brit~~Canadian-penned) seems to have gone the same way...
When around 250 Dutch nobles presented a list of grievances to the Spanish ruler of the Netherlands, one of her councillors expressed surprise that she was worried about "these beggars" (ces gueux), which became "geuzen" in Dutch. Less than a decade later, the watergeuzen (Water Beggars) had proceeded to seize several key cities in the north, raid several Spanish fleets, and set off a full-scale religious and political rebellion against the Spanish crown that would last eighty years before ending in Dutch independence.
A Truth In Television example: historically, new but unpopular mathematical ideas were given pejorative names by the people intent on adhering to the status quo, and then happily adopted by the people proposing the new idea. Math terms most of us have heard in school came about that way: irrational numbers, imaginary/complex numbers, pathological cases. This has been going on long enough to makes this trope Older Than Radio at least.
- That is also how the Big Bang was named. The term was coined by Fred Hoyle, a proponent of the competing steady-state hypothesis.
- Similarly, Schrödinger's Cat was originally supposed to demonstrate how absurd the idea of collapsing the wave function was.
- Likewise, the Mpemba Effect (that under certain circumstances warmer water will freeze before colder water) was originally a pejorative term.
- There are also the lesser known ideal numbers, which were later just called ideals.
Black was traditionally a derogatory phrase when applied to African-Americans, with "Negro" regarded as the more proper and acceptable term. This was more or less inverted in the 1960s.
The word queer, once an insult leveled against homosexuals, has largely been adopted by the community for self-description.
Homer Simpson: And another thing! "Queer". Why did you take that word away from us? That was the word we used to make fun of you!
- Similarly, many gay women choose the word "dyke" as self-definition and find "lesbian" an insulting or dirty word. Similar examples exist in various languages.
- Ellen De Generes intially preferred to called a "gay woman" rather than "lesbian", as she considered the latter term at the time to be unintentionally alienating to stright people, and, more simply, didn't like the way it sounded to the ear.
Redneck, though still mainly used pejoratively, has increasingly been embraced as a proud self-identifier in recent years (as in Gretchen Wilson's country hit "Redneck Woman", for example).
Another insult-turned-self-description is "military brat," e.g. "army brat."
- One memorable instance of this occurred in World War II, where General Rommel called the Australian soldiers in Libya 'the rats of Tobruk' (Tobruk being a location in the east of Libya). Guess what nickname the Australian soldiers wore as a badge of pride...
  - May have been intended as an analogy rather than outright insult. After all, rats are hard to get out of a place once they move in...
During the Height of the Jack Thompson phenomenon, Mr. Thompson started labeling people who played video games "Pixelantes". Needless to say, it didn't take long before the T-shirts emblazoned with "I'm a Pixelante" started showing up. This troper thinks he should have bought one while Thompson still had a license.
An interview with the famous liberal psychologist Karl Menninger on the News Hour ended with the question "Does it bother you when you're called a bleeding heart"? He responded, "Not in the least. I'm flattered."
Have you self-identified as a pirate lately due to your habit of downloading illegal files on the internet? Thank the RIAA; they dredged that label out of the bins of history to try and tar the public perception of copyright infringers.
"Geek" used to be an insult until geeks, like pretty much everyone else in this section, took the insult and started wearing it as a badge of honor. These days, magazines throw terms like 'geek chic' around without even the slightest tinge of irony. Ditto with "nerd."
- It's not too hard to figure out, you see it everyday; And those that were the farthest out have gone the other way; You see them on the freeway, It don't look like a lot of fun; But don't you try to fight it—"An idea who's time has come." Don't tell me that I'm crazy, don't tell me I'm nowhere: Take it from me—It's hip to be a square!—Huey Lewis (and the News)
This troper's father still has a button from the early '70s that says "Hi. I'm an effete, impudent intellectual snob", a reference to VP Spiro Agnew's claim that the antiwar movement was led by an "effete corps of impudent snobs."
Many Conservative attacks to Liberal Cities/Institutions have been adopted as well. "The People's Republic of Boulder/Austin/Santa Monica" "Berzerkley" (The University of California-Berkeley), "Mad City" (Madison, Wisconsin), and so on.
- Rogue's Island!
- Heck, in Cambridge, Massachussetts, you can buy stickers practically anywhere that say "The People's Republic of Cambridge."
- Conservatives are actually happy of this; at last the instituations admit what they actually are in so many words!
This You Tube video (Warning: contains the N-word).
When the New Zealand rugby team toured England in the early 20th century, an English newspaper commented negatively on their "somber all-black outfits". They have been known as the All Blacks ever since.
Conservative commentator P.J. O'Rourke was once called a Nazi by an offended listener. He famously responded "Nobody ever fantasizes about being tied to a bed and ravished by a liberal."
When Jon Stewart appeared on the O'Reilly Factor, O'Reilly claimed that 87% of Daily Show fans were intoxicated while watching and repeatedly referred to them as "stoned slackers". The fans adopted it as a Fan Community Nickname and this troper has seen "I'm one of Jon's stoned slackers" T-shirts.
In Australian Rules Football, North Melbourne were nicknamed the "Shinboners" due to their reputation for kicking opposition players in the shins. Their fans proudly adopted the name.
- Geelong's nickname of the Cats came from a story about a black cat crossing the ground, and Geelong winning the match.
Slight Variation: Abraham Lincoln, when called "two-faced", reportedly fired back "If I had two faces, do you think I'd be wearing this one?"
In youth the eccentric greek philosopher Diogenes of Sinope was banished from his hometown. He later remarked: "The Sinopans have condemned me to banishment. I condemn them to stay at home!"
Abraham Lincoln once used the term Michigander to insult Lewis Cass. People in Michigan now use it to refer to themselves.
Jesus freak.

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