A “roast” is a form of humor in which insults and jokes are directed at a specific individual, usually in a celebratory setting such as a birthday or retirement party. The “best roast to say” is the one that is most clever, funny, and insulting, without being mean-spirited or offensive.
Roasts have been around for centuries, and have been used to poke fun at everything from physical appearance to personality traits. Some of the most famous roasts in history include the Friar’s Roast of Sir Francis Drake in 1581, the Mark Twain’s roasts of Oscar Wilde in 1883, and the Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts in the 1970s and 1980s.