The Time Bomb Insult (TBI) is a special breed of slur that takes effect only after a delay, requiring some time to sink in. The recipient(s) of a TBI will immediately sense that they are being taunted, clued in by the dispenser's impertinent tone (and hasty getaway), however they will hesitate to engage in hostilities while still uncertain as to the tenor of the utterance.

Once the concealed meaning of the TBI begins to dawn, the effect is all the more irritating than that of a conventional insult, because any means of retaliation will have evaporated before the recipients' very eyes, leaving them in a state of intensely frustrated indignation.

A TBI version of the timeless classic "S.O.B.", for instance, would be "progeny of a genitor whose better half has characteristics of the domesticated wolf!"

When addressing highly intelligent individuals, the obfuscation of the meaning must be increased, in order to avoid an untimely delivery. In extreme cases, one can resort to the format of Einstein's 2 percent problem; "... so if the Norwegian lives in the house to your left, and the man in the green house does not keep a cat, who is the Bloody Moron?"

You make a cool and majestic exit, while your disoriented victim scrambles for pen and paper.