Awl reader-friend Rick Paulas writes in with an excellent point! "Every now and then, I'll meet someone (usually a friend-of-a-friend, and usually in a bar) who, for whatever reason, I absolutely hate. Most times, the disgust comes from them mentioning their love of Red Bull, bringing up The Hills in any way possible, or being outspoken about their conservative views. Other times, it comes from the knowledge that the person I'm talking to will never take sexual interest in me. Either way, the end result is the same: I begin mocking them to their face." But!

"This differs from your standard in-your-face mockery in two very important ways:

(1) The mocked party does not know they are being mocked, either because of their low sarcas-dar or not experiencing enough conversations with me to be conditioned to my verbal rhythms;

(2) Other people in the conversation do know the person is being mocked, because they either have the ability to distinguish subtle sarcasm or just by knowing how big of an asshole I am.

In any case, it's fun and I suggest you try it with someone. But be careful, lay it on too thick and you're bound to be answered with a swift punch to the forehead. But more importantly...

There oughta be a German word for this!"

He is correct. Won't you help?