Natter
1. To say critical things of someone or something.
While there are times when criticism may be constructive or warranted. But when someone is being derogatory, making snide comments, and acting hostilely toward someone or something, this indicates they have a misdeed of their own (see ‘overt’).
We’ve all seen examples where someone accuses someone of something they themselves are guilty of. Like a husband accusing his wife of having an affair, but he is the one sleeping around. The husband can become extremely critical of his wife. Suddenly everything she does is wrong. And the husband goes on and on about how wrong she is. That is an example of natter in Scientology terminology.
This can also be in smaller things. For example, a boy drinks all the milk knowing he’s supposed to ask his mom if he wants some. His mom goes the refrigerator and finds the milk gone. The boy then accuses his brother of having drunk all the milk. He starts to say critical things about his brother. “He drank all the milk. I saw him!” “He broke my toy.” “He hit me.” And so on.
Natter is a mechanism people use to cover their own tracks even if they aren’t fully aware they are doing it. When someone is nattering, an auditor can help them take a look at any related misdeeds that person may have. Doing so can provide a lot of relief and make a person feel happier overall.
(HCOB 7 Sept 64 II) (HCOB 15 Oct 74)
Natter can be used as a noun or a verb.
Examples:
Verb: The serial killer nattered about how poorly the police were doing their jobs.
Noun: Marlow’s incessant natter about Marge’s filthy house indicated Marlow needed to look at her own housekeeping.
2. Natter isn’t in common English usage these days. It means to idly chatter, or engage in casual conversation. It can be used as a noun or a verb.
Examples:
Verb: We sat around and nattered about the best way to make an omelette.
Noun: His incessant natter wasted too much time around the water cooler.
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