Noun

1. Idle banter, typically on innocuous or unimportant subjects, made to open conversations, usually out of politeness.

   1814, Jane Austen, Mansfield Park

   ...to the credit of the lady it may be added that...without any of the arts of flattery or the gaieties of small talk, he began to be agreeable to her.

Synonyms

• (innocuous conversation out of politeness): pleasantries
• See also Wikisaurus:chatter