L'esprit de l'escalier

For the story by Catherynne M. Valente, see L'Esprit de L'Escalier.

L'esprit de l'escalier or l'esprit d'escalier (UK: /lɛˌspriː d(ə l)ɛˈskæljeɪ/, US: /lɛˌspriː d(ə ˌl)ɛskəˈljeɪ/,[1] French: [lɛspʁi d(ə l)ɛskalje]; lit. 'staircase wit') is a French term used in English for the predicament of thinking of the perfect reply too late.

Origin

This name for the phenomenon comes from French encyclopedist and philosopher Denis Diderot's description of such a situation in his "Paradoxe sur le comédien" ("Paradox on the Comedian").[2] During a dinner at the home of statesman Jacques Necker, a remark was made to Diderot which left him speechless at the time, because, he explains, "a sensitive man, such as myself, overwhelmed by the argument levelled against him, becomes confused and doesn't come to himself again until at the bottom of the stairs" ("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").

In this case, "the bottom of the stairs" refers to the architecture of the kind of hôtel particulier or mansion to which Diderot had been invited. In such houses, the reception rooms were on the étage noble, one floor above the ground floor.[3] To have reached the bottom of the stairs means to have definitively left the gathering.

In other languages

An older English term that was sometimes used for this meaning is afterwit; it is used, for example, in James Joyce's Ulysses (Chapter 9).

The Yiddish trepverter ("staircase words")[4] and the German loan translation Treppenwitz express the same idea as l'esprit de l'escalier. However, in contemporary German Treppenwitz has an additional meaning: it refers to events or facts that seem to contradict their own background or context.[5] The frequently used phrase Treppenwitz der Weltgeschichte ("staircase joke of world history") derives from the title of a book by that name by William Lewis Hertslet [de][6] (1882; much expanded 1895) and means "irony of history" or "paradox of history".[7][8]

In Russian, the notion is close to the native Russian saying "задним умом крепки" (zadnim umom krepki, "Our hindsight is strong").

The French expression is also used in French. English speakers sometimes call this "escalator wit", or "staircase wit".[9]

See also

References

  1. ^ "esprit de l'escalier"[dead link‍] (US) and "esprit de l'escalier". Lexico UK English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 2020-03-22.
  2. ^ Paradoxe sur le comédien, 1773, remanié en 1778; Diderot II, Classiques Larousse 1934, p. 56
  3. ^ "Piano nobile - (Architecture): Definition". En.mimi.hu. Retrieved 2011-10-27.
  4. ^ Mark Cohen (2010-03-22). "Chabon and Alter: Is it Esprit d'escalier or Trepverter?". The Forward. Retrieved 2013-01-18.
  5. ^ Treppenwitz, DUDEN – Das große Wörterbuch der Deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden, Mannheim 2000. "Bedeutung: Vorfall, der wie ein schlechter Scherz wirkt." [Meaning: event which looks like a bad joke]
  6. ^ Hertslet, William Lewis; Helmolt, Hans Ferdinand (2006-06-23). Der Treppenwitz der Weltgeschichte. Geschichtliche Irrtümer, Entstellungen und Erfindungen, William Lewis Hertslet, Winfried Hoffman. Retrieved 2011-10-27.
  7. ^ "Treppenwitz : German » English". PONS. Archived from the original on 2016-05-20.
  8. ^ Langenscheidts Großes Schulwörterbuch Deutsch-Englisch, Berlin, München 1977
  9. ^ "Words for Ideas Worth Thinking About". Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 2011-10-27.

Read other articles:

Mouawad

Private jewelry company MouawadCompany typePrivateIndustryRetailFounded1890; 134 years ago (1890)HeadquartersDubai, GenevaKey peopleRobert Mouawad, Fred Mouawad, Alain Mouawad, Pascal Mouawad and Jimmy MouawadProductsJewelry, watchesNumber of employees500+ (2013)Websitewww.mouawad.com Mouawad is a family-owned international company of Lebanese origin that makes and sells jewelry, objects of art, and luxury watches.[1] The firm has headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland,...

 

3rd Battalion, 2nd Marines

US Marine Corps unit 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marines3/2 InsigniaActive18 January 1941 – 27 March 194628 December 1950 – presentCountry United States of AmericaBranch United States Marine CorpsTypeLight infantryRoleLocate, close with and destroy the enemy by fire and maneuverPart of2nd Marine Regiment2nd Marine DivisionGarrison/HQMarine Corps Base Camp LejeuneNickname(s)Betio BastardsMotto(s)Unus Supra (Latin)One aboveWe quell the storm, and ride the thunder!Most Recently: Streng...

 

Široki Brijeg

Lištica redirects here. For the river, see Lištica (river). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.Find sources: Široki Brijeg – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) City in Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and HerzegovinaŠ...

Márcio Amoroso

Márcio Amoroso Amoroso in azione all'Udinese nel 1996 Nazionalità  Brasile Altezza 179 cm Peso 69 kg Calcio Ruolo Attaccante Termine carriera 2016 CarrieraGiovanili 1988-1992 GuaraniSquadre di club1 1992 Guarani0 (0)1992-1993→  Verdy Kawasaki19 (16)1994-1995 Guarani39 (28)1996 Flamengo16 (6)1996-1999 Udinese86 (38)1999-2001 Parma40 (11)2001-2004 Borussia Dortmund59 (28)2004-2005 Malaga29 (5)2005 San Paolo26 (18)2006 Milan4 (1)20...

 

هوتو

هوتومناطق الوجود المميزةالبلد بورونديرواندا رواندا، بوروندي، جمهورية الكونغو الديمقراطية، تنزانيااللغات Rwanda-Rundi، English، إفريقيا الناطقة بالفرنسيةالدين مسيحيةالمجموعات العرقية المرتبطةمجموعات ذات علاقة Other بانتويون; especially توتسي and Twaتعديل - تعديل مصدري - تعديل ويكي بيانا...

 

US Saint-Malo

French football club Football clubUS Saint-MaloFull nameUnion Sportive Saint-MaloNickname(s)Les Diables Noirs (The Black Devils)Founded1901GroundStade de MarvilleSaint-MaloChairmanYves FantouManagerFabien PujoLeagueNational 2 Group C2022–23National 2 Group A, 5thWebsiteClub website Home colours Away colours Union Sportive Saint-Malo is a French association football club founded in 1901. They are based in the town of Saint-Malo and their home stadium is the Stade Marville. As of the 2017–1...

فارس (وسام)

  لمعانٍ أخرى، طالع فارس (توضيح). فارسالتسمية للأنثى فارسة فرع من محارب النوع لقب نبيلرتبة عسكرية المجال فروسية العصور الوسطى تعديل - تعديل مصدري - تعديل ويكي بيانات ديفيد الأول ملك اسكتلندا يمنح لقب فارس الفارس هو شخص حاصل على لقب الفروسية الفخري من عاهل أو زعيم سياسي �...

 

2001 au Maroc

Cet article est une ébauche concernant une chronologie ou une date et le Maroc. Vous pouvez partager vos connaissances en l’améliorant (comment ?) selon les recommandations des projets correspondants. Chronologies Données clés 1998 1999 2000  2001  2002 2003 2004Décennies :1970 1980 1990  2000  2010 2020 2030Siècles :XIXe XXe  XXIe  XXIIe XXIIIeMillénaires :Ier IIe  IIIe  Chronologies géographiques Afrique Afrique du Sud, ...

 

Allocerus spencei

Artikel ini sebatang kara, artinya tidak ada artikel lain yang memiliki pranala balik ke halaman ini.Bantulah menambah pranala ke artikel ini dari artikel yang berhubungan atau coba peralatan pencari pranala.Tag ini diberikan pada Februari 2023. Allocerus spencei Klasifikasi ilmiah Kerajaan: Animalia Filum: Arthropoda Kelas: Insecta Ordo: Coleoptera Famili: Cerambycidae Genus: Allocerus Spesies: Allocerus spencei Allocerus spencei adalah spesies kumbang tanduk panjang yang tergolong famili Ce...

List of sports rivalries in the United Kingdom

This article uses bare URLs, which are uninformative and vulnerable to link rot. Please consider converting them to full citations to ensure the article remains verifiable and maintains a consistent citation style. Several templates and tools are available to assist in formatting, such as reFill (documentation) and Citation bot (documentation). (August 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this message) The Old Firm derby between Celtic and Rangers is widely considered the greatest in British ...

 

Котайкская область

Запрос «Котайк» перенаправляется сюда; см. также другие значения. Котайкская областьԿոտայքի մարզ Герб 40°25′ с. ш. 44°45′ в. д.HGЯO Страна  Армения Адм. центр Раздан Глава Романос Петросян История и география Дата образования 1995 Площадь 2 100 Население Населен�...

 

Stephen Smith

Stephen Smith Menteri PertahananMasa jabatan13 September 2010 – 18 September 2013Perdana MenteriJulia GillardKevin RuddPendahuluJohn FaulknerPenggantiDavid JohnstonMenteri PerdaganganMasa jabatan28 Juni 2010 – 13 September 2010Perdana MenteriJulia GillardPendahuluSimon CreanPenggantiCraig EmersonMenteri Urusan Luar NegeriMasa jabatan3 Desember 2007 – 13 September 2010Perdana MenteriKevin RuddJulia GillardPendahuluAlexander DownerPenggantiKevin RuddAnggota Parl...

Coppa dei Campioni d'Africa 1978

Coppa dei Campioni d'Africa 1978 Competizione Coppa dei Campioni d'Africa Sport Calcio Edizione 14ª Organizzatore CAF Partecipanti 24 Risultati Vincitore Canon Yaoundé(2º titolo) Secondo Hafia Semi-finalisti Vita ClubEnugu Rangers Statistiche Miglior giocatore Seydouba Bangoura Mayanga Maku (2) Miglior marcatore Ally Thuwem (3) Incontri disputati 41 Gol segnati 107 (2,61 per incontro) Cronologia della competizione 1977 1979 Manuale La Coppa dei Campioni d'Africa 1978 è...

 

Chucky

Questa voce o sezione sull'argomento personaggi cinematografici non cita le fonti necessarie o quelle presenti sono insufficienti. Puoi migliorare questa voce aggiungendo citazioni da fonti attendibili secondo le linee guida sull'uso delle fonti. Charles Lee RayChucky nel film La bambola assassina 2 UniversoLa bambola assassina AutoreDon Mancini 1ª app. inLa bambola assassina (1988) Ultima app. inChucky (2021-) Interpretato daBrad Dourif David Kohlsmith (bambino: Chucky serie TV) T...

 

List of sports clubs in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames

Richmond upon Thames' location within Greater London This is a list of sports clubs in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Bowling Barnes Bowling Club, established in 1725 Cambridge Park Bowling and Sports Club, a lawn and indoor bowls club in East Twickenham Mid-Surrey Bowling Club, founded in 1922 North Sheen Bowling Club in Kew Priory Park Club in Kew, which was founded in 1905 Strawberry Hill Bowling Club, founded in 1920 Teddington Bowling Club, founded in 1910 Cricket Kew Crick...

Liste des pays par volume d'importation

Importations par pays en millions de dollars américains (2006). Cette liste présente les pays triés par volume d'importation d'après le CIA World Factbook[1]. La liste comprend les 197 états membres de l'ONU ainsi que certains territoires autonomes. Les données sont en dollars américains. À noter que certains classements différencient les importations de biens et les importations de services[2]. Classement au 10 juillet 2016 Pays Importations Année 1 États-Unis $2,347,000,000,000 2...

 

I've fallen, and I can't get up!

Catchphrase This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.Find sources: I've fallen, and I can't get up! – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (January 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this message) The catchphrase written with a marker on a fallen road work sign in Halifax, Canada I've fallen, and I can't ge...

 

رافييل فيكي

رافييل فيكي   معلومات شخصية الميلاد 26 أبريل 1977 (العمر 47 سنة) الطول 1.78 م (5 قدم 10 بوصة) مركز اللعب وسط الجنسية سويسرا  معلومات النادي النادي الحالي يانغ بويز (مدرب) مسيرة الشباب سنوات فريق 1984–1990 Steg 1990–1993 سيون المسيرة الاحترافية1 سنوات فريق م. (هـ.) 1993–1997 سيون 130 (3) 199...

Economic geography

Subfield of human geography and economics For the journal, see Economic Geography (journal). Part of a series onGeography Portal Outline History of geography Graeco-Roman Chinese Islamic Age of Discovery History of cartography Historical geography Environmental determinism Regional geography Quantitative revolution Critical geography Human geographyFields Agricultural Behavioral Cognitive Cultural Development Economic Health Historical Internet Language Marketing Military Political Population...

 

Automata theory

Study of abstract machines and automata Classes of automata (Clicking on each layer gets an article on that subject) The automaton described by this state diagram starts in state S1, and changes states following the arrows marked 0 or 1 according to the input symbols as they arrive. The double circle marks S1 as an accepting state. Since all paths from S1 to itself contain an even number of arrows marked 0, this automaton accepts strings containing even numbers of 0s. Automata theory is the s...