Yes exactly. I'd endear a friend back and forth laughingly calling each other POS but in our context it was actually ok banter. We were even talking about what a good friendship we have so we can allow each other to use those words and cross a line without any real threat. Such are the contexts that are okay for this type of thing.
Advice for Australians in the US: you probably call someone you don’t like a bastard and call your best mate a real bastard. Don’t learn the hard was as I did: things do not work that way in the USA.
