Digs are usually mean. Meanness in this context usually means a hidden second meaning to something said or performed in order to make you feel worse and psychologically manipulate you for the purpose of minimizing you, usually to temporarily empower the speaker.
Commenting on a sore spot, wielding dirt, holding something over your head.
To me it usually helps to just cut to the chase and acknowledge that the projection of aggression usually belies a less powerful position and accept that for some reason they had to make the choice to be that way and they probably didn't want to because it makes them look like an asshole. Some people seem to enjoy it quite a Bit, though.
If someone who's aware says they didn't ‘mean’ they are saying didn't intend to hurt you with what they said, there was no intended second meaning or the meaning was accidental. Whereas if they mean it, it was said with additional interpretation available to hurt you. They intended to say something essentially sponsored from someone else.
February 26, 2026