What it means
Short for banter. It’s that playful back-and-forth rinsing between mates where everyone’s chatting spicy, but nobody’s actually beefing. “Good bants” means the jokes landed and everyone’s creasing, “dead bants” means it’s fallen flat and you should probably pattern up and change the subject. You’ll hear it in group chats, pubs, and on the road.
Usage examples
"Man said my roast was giving microwave sadness. I told him his trim looks like a kebab shop logo. Proper good bants, innit, now pass the gravy."
"The lads at the office are pure bants, lunch break feels like a stand-up gig some days."
"Last night was solid bants, even the new girl was creasing by the end of it."
Where it comes from
Clipping of "banter", part of the London-and-uni-student habit of lopping off the end of any word and tacking an -s on for chumminess, the same pattern that gave "lols", "totes", "obvs" and "amazeballs". Surged in the 2010s on British reality TV (think Made in Chelsea) and lad-culture comedy panels, then settled into general pub English.
Other ways to say it
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