trading barbs

2月号のReader's Digest冒頭のeditor-in-chiefの記事からの抜粋です。
Dear Readers
...
She was a slight, quick freshman and the best player on campus. The best, she'd soon prove, on any campus on the East Coast. With her long hair and tan, she moved defiantly around the court like a warrior in a hurry.
Wow, I said to my roommate, she's amazing. And very cute. He said: Duh.
...
One night the next fall, she and I found ourselves trading barbs over a keg outside my dorm room.
この "trading barbs" が分かりません。 "barb" で連想するのは "barbed wire" ですが、二人はこの後で親密な仲になるのですから "trading barbs" は文脈からすると仲良く話を交わしているのではと推測しますが、どんな意味なのか辞書を見ます。 "barb" に次の意味がありました。
・Oxford English Dictionary: A deliberately hurtful remark.: his barb hurt more than she cared to admit
・Collins Dictionary: A barb is an unkind remark meant as a criticism of someone or something.: The barb stung her exactly the way he hoped it would.
・Cambridge English Dictionary: a remark that is funny but unkind: I tried to ignore their barbs about my new jacket.
そうですか、この時点ではまだ優しい言葉での会話ではないのですね。しかし "barbed wire" とは関係がありましたね。