l'esprit de l'escalier

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• Received-Pronunciation: /lɛˌspɹiː də lɛsˈkal.jeɪ/
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• General-American: /lɛˌspɹi də ˌlɛs.kəlˈjeɪ/
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• General-American: /lɛˌspɹi də ˈlɛs.kɑl.jeɪ/
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• Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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• Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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• rhymes with -eɪ (GA)
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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.

20 source translations are retained for this English entry.

• Czech: esprit de l'escalier — phenomenon when a conversational rejoinder or remark only occurs to someone after the opportunity to make it has passed
• Czech: opožděná duchaplnost — phenomenon when a conversational rejoinder or remark only occurs to someone after the opportunity to make it has passed
• Estonian: tagantjärgi tark olema — phenomenon when a conversational rejoinder or remark only occurs to someone after the opportunity to make it has passed
• Finnish: myöhään keksitty huomautus — phenomenon when a conversational rejoinder or remark only occurs to someone after the opportunity to make it has passed
• Finnish: myöhään keksitty letkaus — phenomenon when a conversational rejoinder or remark only occurs to someone after the opportunity to make it has passed
• Finnish: myöhään keksitty sutkaus — phenomenon when a conversational rejoinder or remark only occurs to someone after the opportunity to make it has passed
• French: esprit de l'escalier — phenomenon when a conversational rejoinder or remark only occurs to someone after the opportunity to make it has passed
• French: esprit d'escalier — phenomenon when a conversational rejoinder or remark only occurs to someone after the opportunity to make it has passed
• German: Treppenwitz — phenomenon when a conversational rejoinder or remark only occurs to someone after the opportunity to make it has passed
• Icelandic: gáfaður eftir á — phenomenon when a conversational rejoinder or remark only occurs to someone after the opportunity to make it has passed
• Korean: 기차 떠나고 손 흔들다 (gicha tteonago son heundeulda) — phenomenon when a conversational rejoinder or remark only occurs to someone after the opportunity to make it has passed
• Portuguese: espírito da escada — phenomenon when a conversational rejoinder or remark only occurs to someone after the opportunity to make it has passed
• Russian: за́дний ум (zádnij um) — phenomenon when a conversational rejoinder or remark only occurs to someone after the opportunity to make it has passed
• Russian: ле́стничный ум (léstničnyj um) — phenomenon when a conversational rejoinder or remark only occurs to someone after the opportunity to make it has passed
• Russian: остроу́мие на ле́стнице (ostroúmije na léstnice) — phenomenon when a conversational rejoinder or remark only occurs to someone after the opportunity to make it has passed
• Serbo-Croatian: касна па̏ме̄т — phenomenon when a conversational rejoinder or remark only occurs to someone after the opportunity to make it has passed
• Serbo-Croatian: kasna pȁmēt — phenomenon when a conversational rejoinder or remark only occurs to someone after the opportunity to make it has passed
• Spanish: espíritu del escalador — phenomenon when a conversational rejoinder or remark only occurs to someone after the opportunity to make it has passed
• Spanish: ingenio de la escalera — phenomenon when a conversational rejoinder or remark only occurs to someone after the opportunity to make it has passed
• Yiddish: טרעפּווערטער (trepverter) — phenomenon when a conversational rejoinder or remark only occurs to someone after the opportunity to make it has passed