History Main / TrashTalk

* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'s'' battle with Neji is almost half composed of this, before Naruto gets mad.
** There's a reason they call it the ''Talk-You-To-Death-no-Jutsu.''.

* [[http://daveslongbox.blogspot.com/2006/04/thor-smack-talker.html Thor, as outlined here.]]

* ''Series/DoctorWho'': In "Battlefield", Ancelyn and Mordred spend some time exchanging insults before charging at each other, even though they're in the middle of a battle.
* A MOTD in ''Series/PowerRangersTimeForce'' had some pretty good trash-talk; the Blue Ranger had just said that no one was too tough for the Power Rangers, prompting the monster to yell, "Well, let me introduce myself. I'm No One, and I'm too tough for the Power Rangers."

* ''Series/ICarly'': Carly badly, then Sam quite well, during ''iFight Shelby Marx'', Aruthor (Spencer) and Aspartamay's taunt war in ''iStart a Fan War''.
* The "Hater's Ball" sketch on ''Series/ChappellesShow'' is about a convention of haters who are hating on each other on a proffesional level and are competing for "Hater of the Year" award. It's seven minutes of nonstop trash talking.
* ''Series/{{Benson}}'' has an episode where a "duel" is fought where Benson decides he and Clayton would "play the dozens" to settle it. Meaning a topic is given and they have to make insults at their opponent while hoping the opponent runs out of time to reply. The last round has Clayton "punch-drunk" while Benson shows his mastery.

-->'''French knight''': You don't frighten us, English pig dogs. Go and boil your bottoms, sons of a silly person. I blow my nose at you and call your door-opening request a silly thing M'seiur Arthur King, you and all your silly English Kuh-nnnnnniggets! (''blows raspberries'')\\

'''French knight:''' I don't wanna talk to you no more, you empty-headed animal food trough wipers! I fart in your general direction! Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries!

-->'''French knight''': You don't frighten us, English pig dogs. Go and boil your bottoms, sons of a silly person. I blow my nose at you and call your door-opening request a silly thing M'seiur Arthur King, you and all your silly English Kuh-nnnnnniggets! (''blows raspberries'')

* The LetsPlay/FreelanceAstronauts tend to do this. Most notably was Tetris Smackdown, which largely consisted of [[NoIndoorVoice pipes!]] engaging in some epic level trash talk.

* Happens before, during, and after races in the first two ''VideoGame/MidnightClub'' games. Due to the character tripping over his words, one example backfires [[CrowningMomentOfFunny hilariously]]:

* UsefulNotes/Basketball:

Compare TheReasonYouSuckSpeech and EvilGloating. Frequently paired with IAmNotLeftHanded. See also IShallTauntYou, TauntButton, YouFightLikeACow, VolleyingInsults.

* ''[[VideoGame/SuperSmashBros Super Smash Bros for Nintendo 3DS and WiiU]]'' have the casts of ''Franchise/FireEmblem'' and ''VideoGame/KidIcarus'' do this upon winning against opponents from their own franchises, though these statements are quite OutOfCharacter for the FireEmblem fighters.

-->-- Cricketer '''Greg Thomas''' to '''Viv Richards''' on his miss-swings.

-->-- Cricketer '''Viv Richards''' to '''Greg Thomas''' after hitting the next delivery out of the ground.

* Common in tri-Ace games, notable ''VideoGame/ValkyrieProfile'' (nearly every character can be a cocky bastard) and the ''StarOcean'' series. Reasonably common in other [=RPG=]s with voice acting.

'''19:''' [[MachineMonotone Registering Insult]]. ''[beep beep beep]'' Retort: [[CaptainObvious You are short and your hairline is receding.]]\\

* Trash talk is apparently a time-honored tradition in Tamriel - in ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'' everyone from bandits to DRAGONS will taunt you when you get into a fight with them (albeit in their own language, in the case of the dragons). The leaders on both sides of the Skyrim Civil War in particular have some priceless fight dialogue.

* In ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'', when he isn't making {{Badass Boast}}s, BigBad Alduin is doing this in combat by outright mocking his foes.

** There's a reason they call it the ''Talk-You-To-Death-no-Jutsu.''
*** And he seems to be such a master that, if a [[HannibalLecture villain throws it back at him]], he simply ignores it or takes it in, yet has the final word anyway, even if the villain has the greatest of points.

During the course of a sporting event, SeriousBusiness duel, or an armed fight, one, both or ''all'' present will start trash talking their opponents to psych them out. They'll say their two year old ADD niece is [[AdultsAreUseless more competent]], that their equipment is [[ExplosiveInstrumentation liable to explode]] ''before'' the fight starts, and they are blessed to fight someone so [[TheMagnificent Magnificent]] that this [[ButForMeItWasTuesday Tuesday]] will be the single greatest day of their (doomed) opponent's life.

* A ''WesternAnimation/CoolMcCool''cartoon has Cool trying to pull this on the Owl while in airborne pursuit of him:

[[folder:{{Anime}} and {{Manga}}]]
* In ''BowlingKing'', Doufu Ma does this to Tz'how, stealing a reporter's microphone to tell him, over television, that the only reason he's in the God's Hand Cup tournament is to defeat him with his Eagle Dive. Normally, this would make him look tough, but his stammering just makes it creepy.

* ''Manga/OnePiece'''s Roronoa Zoro is the Straw-Hat Pirates' resident trash talker in a fight (or, given Usopp, the resident trash talker who can also back it up). For example, Zoro's reply to Mr. 1's comments that nobody has ever broken through his [[MadeOfIron Made of Steel]] body is assure him that's because Mr. 1 hadn't met ''him'' yet. There's also his vowing to defeat a fiercely powerful zombie samurai and take his sword as his own and constantly mocking a TopHeavyGuy who's sensitive [[VocalDissonance about his high pitched voice]].

* In ''{{Manga/Gintama}}'' episode 79, Gintoki, Kondou, Binbokusai, and Tojou took a restroom break from fighting, but got stranded in the restroom without tissues. Unable to continue fighting without first finding tissues to wipe their butts, they spent an entire episode trash talking and mind gaming.
--> '''Kondou''': I never imagined that the enemy captain is an old man. But we won't go easy on you. Let's settle this!
--> '''Binbokusai''': What are you blabbering about? You don't stand a chance against me. I guarantee it.
--> '''Gintoki''': Right back at you, old man. Don't you see? You're already trapped like a rat.
--> '''Tojou''': No need to rush. We'll slaughter you later. But first thing first...
--> '''Everyone''': Someone, please bring us toilet paper!
* Vegeta of ''Franchise/DragonBall'' loves trash-talking his opponents. He [[TheWorfEffect isn't always able to fully back up what he says]], but it does result in some of the series' best lines.

[[folder: Comic Books ]]

* {{Spider-Man}} vs. any of his opponents, ''ever''. [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness Unless they get him]] [[UnstoppableRage really furious]]. [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown Then it hurts]].
* {{Deadpool}} has been known to try this. [[TalkativeLoon It rarely stays there]].

[[folder:Film]]
* In ''Franchise/StarWars'', this is a common Sith technique known as ''dun moch''. It's used to psychologically damage the opponent during combat, in order to gain victory over them. If your opponent is distracted or upset, he's easier to kill. And as an added bonus, if your opponent [[BerserkButton snaps]], it makes him easy prey for TheDarkSide.
** However, it should be used with some caution; successfully talking an opponent into [[UnstoppableRage giving in to their anger]] can be a bad idea, as [[spoiler: Count Dooku]] finds out.
** A similar technique used by Jedi is used to similar effect, but without utilizing normal trash talk techniques. Notably Luke utilized this to turn Darth Vader back to the light and in one EU game this must be utilized to sever a Sith's connection to the force to actually be killed.
* An official part of the titular sport in ''[[Film/{{Baseketball}} BASEketball]]'', the purpose is to make the thrower miss their throw.
* In ''Film/TheBigLebowski'', rival bowler Jesus Quintana is a veritable font of this. Made even funnier by the Dude's LameComeback.
--> '''Jesus''': You ready to be fucked, man? I see you rolled your way into the semis. Dios mio, man. Liam and me, we're gonna fuck you up.
--> '''The Dude''': Yeah, well, you know that's just, like, your opinion, man.
* In ''IpMan 2'' the [[ArrogantKungFuGuy Arrogant Boxer]] frequently mouths out at his Chinese opponents.
* [[Creator/MrT Clubber Lang]] from ''Film/RockyIII''.
* Yan Ti San/Thunderleg, the villain of the first ''Film/DrunkenMaster'' film, is a master of this. When Fei Hung demands that Yan stop insulting his father's kung fu, Yan replies with "Judging by you, your old man's kung fu stinks. I wouldn't ask him to wipe the shit from my damned asshole!" And he just keeps on going from there, folks.
* The Scarecrow in TheWizardOfOz uses a G rated form of this
---> '''Scarecrow:''' Come along Dorothy, we don't want any of those apples.
---> '''Apple Tree:''' Are you hinting my apples aren't what they ought to be?
---> '''Scarecrow:''' ''(tauntingly)'' Oh, no. It's just that she doesn't like little green worms!

[[folder:Folklore]]
* [[Literature/TheBible Biblical]]: David and Goliath both indulge in ritual trash talk before they fight.
* Greek: both the Greek and the Trojan champions indulge in ''Literature/TheIliad''.

[[folder:Live Action Television]]

[[folder:Newspaper Comics]]
* Trash talking opponents is one of ComicStrip/BigNate's true skills.
* Parodied in one ''ComicStrip/{{Foxtrot}}'' comic where Peter and Jason are playing basketball, and Jason is standing in front of Peter saying: "Banana peels. Fish heads. A crumpled milk carton. Coffee grounds. Chicken bones. An empty cereal box." Peter exasperatedly tells Jason: "That's not how you talk trash, doofus."

[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]

--> '''[[TheKnightsWhoSaySquee Lucina]] vs. Marth''': ''This'' is the Hero-King?
--> '''Lucina vs. Ike''': And they call'' you ''the Radiant Hero?
--> '''[[PlayerCharacter Female Robin]] vs. Lucina''': How can you protect Chrom when you can't even protect yourself?
--> '''[[EvilKnockoff Dark Pit]] vs. Pit''': [[WhereIsYourXNow Where's your goddess now?]]
--> '''Palutena vs. Dark Pit''': Poor little Pittoo!

* Xykon from ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' is a ''master'' at this, coming up with the nastiest lectures to completely crush his opponent spirit and destroy any measure of confidence they had. It backfires on him once when a lecture of his ends up having a much-needed ''therapeutic'' effect on his opponent.
* [[WebComic/EightBitTheater The Light Warriors]] do a lot more trash talking than fighting. Without an opponent present, they use this on each other.

* Film/{{Sockbaby}}.
--> '''Ronnie Cordova:''' "Go forth and tell your alien brothers... THAT RONNIE CORDOVA SAYS THEY'RE GAY!"

* Episode 20 of ''WebVideo/DragonBallZAbridged'' (which is pretty much entirely devoted to parodying ProfessionalWrestling) has Recoome delivering a long rant of Smack Talk to Vegeta.
** There's also this exchange between Vegeta and Android 19 in Episode 36.
-->'''Vegeta:''' Oh-ho-ho, this is precious! You expect to beat ''me'' with this [[RhymesOnADime automaton o' fun]]?
-->'''19:''' [[MachineMonotone Registering Insult]]. ''(Beep beep beep)'' Retort: [[CaptainObvious You are short and your hairline is receding.]]
-->'''Vegeta:''' Ooh-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo, ''[[SarcasmMode scathing.]]''

* Chaka of the WhateleyUniverse. If she's in a superhero battle, it's nonstop, including smart-alecky comments to teammates over their subspace communication system. She's done it to ninjas, supervillains, zombies, you name it.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheBoondocks'': [[JerkAss Colonel H.]] [[EvilOldFolks Stinkmeaner]] speaks nothing ''but'' trash talk when he isn't using the N-word like it's going out of style:
--> "Who in the hell parked in my space?! That's like calling 1-800-Collect-An-Ass-Whoopin'! And no, that ain't no toll-free call, PARTNAH!"
--> "You scared? Yeah. You scared ain't you, bitch [[NWordPrivileges nigga]]? I can smell the bitch in ya. *sniffs twice* Ooh, that's vintage ''bitch''!"
--> "Oh yeah! Look at you! You were talkin' all that good shit a second ago, then ''you got kicked in your chest''! ''You'' eat a d***, [[NWordPrivileges nigga]]! YOU eat a d*** !"

--> Rex: Your costumes are atrocious.
--> Rex III: Your so-called pig looks malnourished. What do you feed the little runt?
--> Gerald: You walk like you've got an umbrella in your pants!
--> Phil: You couldn't catch this pig if your life depended on it, you broken-down old fossil!

* WesternAnimation/CelebrityDeathmatch had a match between Don Rickles and Rodney Dangerfield. Rodney got Rickles to run out of material (Johnny said Rodney played "rope-a-dope" with Rickles) before going into a flurry of fists as each seven punches helped Rodney teach Rickles about "respect." "Here's an R!" It ends with Rodney punching Rickles to pieces that get cooked on a grill.
--> Rodney: Don Rickles is so dead...
--> Audience: '''How Dead is He?'''
--> Rodney: He's so dead the vultures are making reservations! (uses a BBQ fork to get one of Rickles' legs) Now who wants a drumstick?

* TruthInTelevision in [[http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/funny_old_game/3068365.stm cricket]], oddly enough, where it is known as "sledging".
** And as has been asserted by anyone they play (particularly Pakistan), the Australians are the best at it.
* Part of UsefulNotes/MichaelJordan's overall mystique was his penchant for backing up his trash talk. Over and over again.
** [[http://thehowevafiles.blogspot.com/2008/02/yao-ming-wolf-in-nice-guy-clothing.html And Yao Ming somehow picked this up in between his English lessons.]]
** Jordan's teammate Scottie Pippen was no slouch either. At the tail end of Game 1 of the 1997 NBA Finals with the game tied at 82, he famously told Karl "The Mailman" Malone "Just remember, The Mailman doesn't deliver on Sunday, Karl," just before the Utah Jazz star went to the free throw line. Malone clanked both shots off the rim. Jordan then buried the winning shot at the buzzer.
* Pick any online game with any form of free communication between players. Most of this communication will be either people gloating and telling you that you suck because they beat you, or people accusing you of cheating or using cheap tactics because ''you'' beat ''them''.
** The rule of thumb for trash talk is that, if anyone is better than you, they have no life. If anyone is worse than you, they are a noob.
** It can actually work pretty well with text based chat. If they're busy typing they probably won't notice the column of tanks you're about to shove up their ass.
* JohnRomero all but ''invented'' FPS trash talking with ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'' deathmatch.
* Muhammad Ali, to the point of being a WarriorPoet at times.
** Boxer Floyd Patterson refused to call Ali by his Muslim name, always referring to him by his birth name of Cassius Clay during the run up to their fight in 1966. Ali then humiliated Patterson, toying with him for 12 rounds while bellowing "What's my name? What's my name?"
* Larry Bird, former NBA player for the Boston Celtics and [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NIKK_OFvFY patron saint of this trope.]]
** During the three-point shooting contest on All-Star Weekend 1986, Bird entered the locker room, looked around without saying a word, then finally said, "I want all of you to know I am winning this thing. I'm just looking around to see who's gonna finish up second." He won the shooting contest.
** During one game on Christmas Day against the Indiana Pacers, before the game Bird told Chuck Person that he had a Christmas present waiting for him. During the game, when Person was on the bench, Bird shot a three-pointer on the baseline right in front of Person. Immediately after releasing the ball, Bird said to Person, "Merry fuckin' Christmas!", and then the shot went in. This was no doubt inspired by Person (nicknamed the "Rifleman") stating prior to the game that "The Rifleman is Coming, and He's Going Bird Hunting."
** Reggie Miller recalled his encounter with Larry Bird's legendary trash talking ability in his book "I Love Being The Enemy". Reggie tried to disrupt Larry's concentration when he was shooting free throws late in a game. Larry glared at him, made the first free throw and said, "Rook, I am the best fucking shooter in the league. In the league, understand? And you're up here trying to fucking tell me something?" Then Larry buried the second free throw.
** Late in a tied game against the Seattle [=SuperSonics=], Bird told Sonics forward Xavier [=McDaniel=], who was guarding him, exactly where he would hit the game winning shot. After a timeout, Bird made two baseline cuts, then posted in the exact spot he had indicated to [=McDaniel=], paused, turned, and hit the shot in his face.
** After Bird made four straight baskets with Rodman guarding him, he ran over to Chuck Daly and asked "Who's guarding me, Chuck? Is anyone guarding me? You better get someone on me or I'm gonna go for 60." Then he'd continue the banter the next time he got the ball with Rodman inches away.
** After Craig Hodges won the NBA All-Star Game Three-Point contest in Bird's absence, Hodges was asked if the victory was tainted because Bird hadn't participated. "He knows where he can find me," was Hodges retort. Told of Hodges' challenge, Bird replied, "Yeah, at the end of the Bulls bench."
** Knicks' forward Charles Smith remembers when Bird barked "Sorry, Charlie," as he released a long, last-second shot to win a game. "That kind of a thing makes you want to jump on a guy," said Smith.
** Bird even precipitated a fight with Julius Erving by repeating a single phrase over and over. The phrase? 42-5, or the number of points each had scored during an easy Boston victory.
* [[http://en.allexperts.com/q/Military-History-669/2008/7/british-american-relations-ww2.htm Once]] during WorldWarII, shortly after Italy surrendered to the Allies:
--> '''German soldier''': How do you like your new ally?
--> '''American soldier''': You can have 'em back.
--> '''German soldier''': Swine!
--> '''American soldier''': You horse's rear!
* Often used in {{poker}}. Mike "The Mouth" Matusow is a master of it, but Tony G is the absolute king.

* If you think of it, some of [[WinstonChurchill Winston Churchill's]] most famous speeches were to some degree a high-class form of trash-talk.
* During the truce before the Battle of Poitiers the great English knight Sir John Chandos rode out to look at the French army, and met the French Lord of Clermont coming the other way -- and the two of them realised that, despite not being connected in any way, they were both wearing the same heraldric device. The resultant conversation can be summarised as: "You're a thief." "No, you're the thief." "Boy, you are so lucky that there is a truce on." "Yeah, well, there won't be a truce on tomorrow, so you'd better watch it!"
* This is basically the job of Pests in hockey. Easily identified by the way they line up next to the other team's star players and immediately start yabbering in their ear while said player does their best to look like they haven't noticed anything is amiss, the Pest will use Trash Talk and other dirty plays to try and annoy the other team's stars into taking a penalty just to shut them up (or, even better, get into a fight). This both removes a star player from the ice for a few minutes and potentially gives the Pest's team a powerplay. [[DiscreditedTrope Pests aren't as common today as they were in the 80s and 90s]], but there are still a few of them around.
** The now-retired Sean Avery may have been the king of this trope. He not only annoyed virtually everyone on the ice he came in contact with, [[InsultFriendlyFire including his own teammates]], but he took the trash talk off the ice as well, waging wars in the media. Extra notable for when he got suspended by his own team, and subsequently traded a short while later, for saying that Calgary Flames defenceman Dion Phaneuf enjoyed his sloppy seconds (since Phaneuf's fiancée happened to be Avery's former girlfriend).
** Special mention goes to Esa Tikkanen who, not content to simply insult opponents in English, actually ''made up his own language'' just to annoy people (referred to as Tikkanese or Tik-Talk, or Tiki-Talky by fans and media). Tikkanen was Finnish and everyone originally assumed he was speaking his native tongue, but teammate and fellow Finn Jari Kurri confirmed that he couldn't understand a word Tikkanen said either.

* In ''Breakshot'', which is about billiards, TheStoic and closet ArrogantKungFuGuy (he simply manages to ''mask'' the fact that he thinks he's better than everyone else) Ryoji taunts main character Chinmi in their match in the finals of a big tournament, telling him that when they played for kicks earlier he ''let'' Chinmi win.

* Yan Ti San/Thunderleg, the villain of the first ''Drunken Master'' film, is a master of this. When Fei Hung demands that Yan stop insulting his father's kung fu, Yan replies with "Judging by you, your old man's kung fu stinks. I wouldn't ask him to wipe the shit from my damned asshole!" And he just keeps on going from there, folks.