the.com/taunt
An insult engineered to make someone else throw the first punch.
means To jeer or mock someone, often to provoke them into reacting rashly.
from Likely from French 'tant pour tant' meaning 'so much for so much' or 'tit for tat,' used in the sense of a retort matching an insult blow for blow; another theory traces it to French 'tenter,' meaning 'to tempt' or 'provoke.' Either way, the word has carried the flavor of a verbal trap since it entered English in the 1500s.
- tactical use
- MMOs use taunt to force enemies to attack tanks
- etymology
- possibly from French tant pour tant, tit for tat
- effectiveness
- works best when it contains a grain of truth
- backfire risk
- can provoke the very retaliation it mocks