Hi. This thread isn't about singing rounds, it is about rounds of drink, language and the Mudcat. I called it that in hopes that the Usual Suspects would stay away.

On the 'cat I sometimes see one grouch call another a wanker. (rhymes with tanker). Since to me that means "one who masturbates", I consider this totally out of place for the Mudcat. "Twat," which is a pervert's word for vagina, is worse.

But now I've read a book called "Swearing is Good for You" by English write Emma Byrne. She explains these terms thus:
================
"In the UK, pub drinking is highly ritualized. Drinks are bought in rounds, where one person takes it upon themselves to go to the bar and order drinks for the whole group. Each member of the party is expected to take their turn...and to participate in drinking these rounds. The explains why Brits in large groups tend to get drunk enough to fall over on a regular basis; it's just our way of being polite."

This is where language comes in. A drinker who has genuinely forgotten his wallet and borrows money to pay for a round is a TOSSER.

A drinker who has forgotten his wallet, drinks what others have paid for, but doesn't even buy a round on borrowed money is a WANKER.

A drinker who always pretends to forget his wallet, drinks on every round and then tries to cadge money for a kebab is a TWAT.

(That is probably hyperbole about the kebab.)
===============
So a vindictive British male who calls somebody a wanker or a twat on the Mudcat isn't being as obnoxious as I thought. But since he uses the lingo of the pub to describe day-to-day life, he's probably a drinker. If he's posting in the wee hours, British time, he's probably drunk right now or feeling the negative after-effects.
Either way, it behooves us not to take him seriously.

A few times, I have been insulted by a Usual Suspect, and if I think the timing is right, I ask if he's been drinking. Doing that makes them give up like a popped balloon.