A Lesson on the Zing:
The zing was invented for use as a follow-up to a well-timed, clever insult. It is considered the conversational version of a poke in the eye after a mule kick to the nuts. After you break a person’s enthusiasm, you bury them even further. The very first zing ever recorded in history was made be an early homo erectus 750,000 thousand years ago and it went as follows:
Caveman 1: Me make big fire!!
Caveman 2: Big flamer make big fire
Caveman 3: Zing>

As you can probably see, caveman 2 implied that caveman 1 was a homosexual, and caveman 3 poured salt in the wounds. Recently I hear people using the zing at unzingworthy moments in conversation. Here’s an example of a zing you may hear today:
Dude 1: You guys want to go to Canada?
Dude 2: Your mom is Canadian… ZING.
What was just displayed for you was an example of a poorly utilized zing for three main reasons. First off, the zing should be recognized and announced by someone other than the zinged or the zingee. Zinging your own zinger is only acceptable when no one else is around, or it is failed to be recognized by a third party. The second mis-zing in dude 2’s statment is the total lack of cleverness. Turning around an innocent statement into a “Your mom” joke is fine and dandy, but most unzingworthy. The third thing wrong with this zing is dude 1 actually wanted to go to Canada. Who goes to Canada? Thats embarrassing enough.
Over the years, many phrases have tried to replace the zing as the primary insult follow-up. Such phrases include “you got served”, “boom pow suprise”, and most recently “eat my thunder”. While these are still used quite frequently, they do not highlight the most clever insults quite as well as the ultimate weapon… the zing.
So please, practice at home people, but lets keep them sacred. Save the zing.
brothatom out
(If you or someone you know have been zinged, and are in need of counseling, please call (800) ZIN-GED1)