L'esprit de l'escalier
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L'esprit de l'escalier (literally, spirit of the staircase) is a French term that describes the predicament of thinking of the right comeback too late. Originally a witticism of Diderot, the French encyclopedist, in his Paradoxe sur le Comédien:
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.
This expression is not currently used in France. The meaning of the word esprit is presently more often interpreted as "spirit" or "mind", mot(s) d'esprit is still "wit".
Producers of popular network television shows have employed the notion for comic effect. Seinfeld devoted an episode, "The Comeback", to a case of l'esprit de l'escalier. Several episodes of Cheers portrayed characters experiencing the phenomenon literally as they ascended the staircase leading from the main entrance of the pub.
Sometimes Treppenwitz, the concept's German translation, is used to express the same idea.
