Describe the merry war of wits between Beatrice and Benedict in Act 1 of Much Ado about Nothing.

Leonardo
describes the relationship between
Benedict and Beatrice thusly,

There is
a kind of merry war betwixt Signior Benedict and her.  They never meet but

there's a skirmish of wit between them.  

In the
very
next few lines, we see this "merry war" Leonardo is referring to.  It is
a war of wits
as each insults the other through puns, jokes, sarcasm, and .
 What is obvious to all but the
two young people is that they are in love
with each other, and their outward shows of wit cover
up their true feelings.
 The scenes in which they engage in this competition of insults, of
sorts,
are some of the most entertaining in the play.  

So let's look
at
their first dialogue more closely.  Beatrice begins the attack by claiming
that Benedick has no
need to talk because no one is paying attention to him.
 He returns the insult by calling her
"Lady Disdain" and feigns surprise that
she is still living.  She answers with the
claim that Disdain cannot die when
it has such meat as Benedick to feed on.  And Benedick vows
that all women
except Beatrice love him, but he loves no one.  And on it goes until Benedick

ends with comparing the speed of his horse to the speed of Beatrice's tongue.  But
Beatrice gets
the last word by saying that he always ends with a "jade's
trick."  This is a
horseman's term for an abrupt stop.  

You get the idea.  What is important to
note, however, is that
intellectually the two are matched very well.  Both are proud, smart,

quick-witted, funny, and not unkind.  Unlike in , Shakespeare does
not let
Benedick get the upper hand in the relationship (as Petruchio did).
 We see this through their
dialogue in Act 1 and are anxious to see how this
relationship develops.