esprit d'escalier
esprit d'escalier (e-SPREE des-kal-i-YE) noun, also l'esprit de l'escalier (les-PREED les-kal-i-YE)
A French phrase that literally means "staircase wit," esprit d'escalier is "the sense of thinking of a clever comeback in an encounter when it is too late. The phrase can be used to describe a riposte to an insult, or any witty, clever remark that comes to mind too late to be useful—when one is on the 'staircase' leaving the scene of the encounter."
4 comments:
Ugh, I have so many for the bride who was "so much prettier" than me...
I love this- so eloquent.
I am again reminded of what a mistake I made in taking German!
I have ALWAYS wanted a word to describe this phenomenon (which I routinely encounter). Thanks!
wow, who knew there was a word for the most often recurring frustration of my life?
I'm putting this in the file for frequent use.
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