Should I have been rude back to a former colleague?
Q: At a work function, I spotted a former colleague whom I hadnt seen for some time, exhibiting the lingering effects of a stroke hed had a few years back. He made a disparaging remark about my increasing baldness. M.M., Frankston, Vic  Illustration by Simon Letch. Credit:  A: The disparaging remark is the second official language of Australia. Its where you say something to someone in a way thats simultaneously affectionate and cruel, which makes the person you say it to feel simultaneously delighted and miserable. I call this language Bagglish, a combination of bagging and English, a richly poetic and brutally insensitive lingo. You look like a homeless Licorice Allsort! (Translation: Your outfit is splendid! I only wish I had your colourful, funky, Euro-chic bravado! )  At a friends barbecue, you might say, Bloody hell! Yeah, love me some carcinogens on bread! (Translation: Im enjoying this meal tremendously and will be going back for seconds, if thats okay with everyone? )