esprit de l'escalier

[es-pree duh le-skahl-yey]

noun

French.

1. a perfect comeback or witty remark that one frustratingly comes up with only when the moment for doing so has passed.

   Writers, by nature, tend to be people in whom l' esprit de l'escalier is a recurrent experience.

Word History and Origins

Origin of esprit de l'escalier¹

First recorded in 1905–10; literally, “wit of the staircase” (i.e., after one has left the gathering)

Example Sentences

"Or helped him down stairs a little faster; he seems to have scented this esprit de l'escalier!"

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Staircases are apt to suggest reflections, and there are various ways of rendering the French phrase "esprit de l'escalier."

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