l'esprit de l'escalier

English

WOTD – 14 July 2019

Etymology

Borrowed from French esprit de l’escalier (literally “mind of the staircase”), with the definite article le (“the”) at the beginning of the term. It refers to a description of the phenomenon in the essay Paradoxe sur le comédien (Paradox of the Actor, completed 1778 and published 1830) by the French encyclopedist and philosopher Denis Diderot (1713–1784).

During a dinner at the home of the statesman Jacques Necker (1732–1804), Diderot was left speechless by a remark made to him. He wrote: « l’homme sensible, comme moi, tout entier à ce qu’on lui objecte, perd la tête et ne se retrouve qu’au bas de l’escalier » (“a sensitive man, such as myself, overwhelmed by the argument levelled against him, becomes confused and can only think clearly again at the bottom of the stairs”), that is, when one is already on the way out of the house.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /lɛˌspɹiː də lɛsˈkal.jeɪ/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /lɛˌspɹi də ˌlɛs.kəlˈjeɪ/, /lɛˌspɹi də ˈlɛs.kɑl.jeɪ/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪ (GA)
• Hyphenation: l'es‧prit de l'es‧ca‧lier

Noun

l'esprit de l'escalier (uncountable)

1. The phenomenon when a conversational rejoinder or remark only occurs to someone after the opportunity to make it has passed.

   Synonyms: afterwit, staircase wit

   • 2011, Richard Kearney, “Epilogue”, in Anatheism: Returning to God after God (Insurrections), New York, N.Y., Chichester, West Sussex: Columbia University Press, →ISBN, part 3 (Postlude), page 182:

     Some last thoughts in l'esprit de l'escalier—afterthoughts descending the stairwell as one remembers things unsaid.

   • 2013, Simmone Howell, Girl Defective, Sydney, N.S.W.: Pan Macmillan, →ISBN; paperback edition, New York, N.Y.: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, September 2015, →ISBN, pages 100–101:

     I flashed on Nancy again. The French had a word for everything: even for that thing you wished you'd said. L'esprit de l'escalier. The wit of the staircase. What I wished I'd said was this: […]

   • 2014, Christopher Fowler, Bryant & May and the Bleeding Heart (A Peculiar Crimes Unit Mystery), New York, N.Y.: Bantam Books, →ISBN, page 173:

     'That's understandable,' said May, 'we get it all the time. L'esprit d'escalier—remembering what you should have said too late.'

   • 2014, Zoë Wicomb, October: A Novel, New York, N.Y.: The New Press, →ISBN, page 112:

     Later, l'esprit de l'escalier provided Mercia with: Glad you're in agreement/I haven't yet spoken/Is that a greeting/Yes indeed—but at the time, affronted, she grabbed at a couple of garments and announced, I'll try these.

Alternative forms

• esprit de l'escalier, esprit d'escalier, l'esprit d'escalier

Translations

phenomenon when a conversational rejoinder or remark only occurs to someone after the opportunity to make it has passed

• Arabic: please add this translation if you can
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: ^{(please verify)} 馬後炮 / 马后炮 (zh) (mǎhòupào), (adjective) ^{(please verify)} 事後聰明 / 事后聪明 (zh) (shìhòu cōngmíng)

• Czech: esprit de l'escalier m, opožděná duchaplnost f
• Estonian: tagantjärgi tark olema
• Finnish: myöhään keksitty huomautus (remark, neutral), myöhään keksitty letkaus, myöhään keksitty sutkaus (quip, retort)
• French: esprit de l’escalier (fr) m, esprit d’escalier (fr) m
• German: Treppenwitz (de) m
• Icelandic: (adjective) gáfaður eftir á
• Japanese: please add this translation if you can
• Korean: 기차 떠나고 손 흔들다 (gicha tteonago son heundeulda)
• Portuguese: espírito da escada m
• Russian: за́дний ум m (zádnij um), ле́стничный ум m (léstničnyj um), остроу́мие на ле́стнице n (ostroúmije na léstnice)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: (slang) касна па̏ме̄т f

  Roman: (slang) kasna pȁmēt f

• Spanish: espíritu del escalador m, ingenio de la escalera m
• Yiddish: טרעפּווערטער n pl (trepverter)

See also

• retrotort (neologism)

Further reading

• l'esprit de l'escalier on Wikipedia.Wikipedia