Apr 1, 2005 This week's theme

Words about wordplay



This week's words

antanaclasis

paralipsis

antiphrasis

oxymoron

esprit d'escalier





Send some to friends & family Words about wordplay “All words are pegs to hang ideas on.” ~Beecher A.Word.A.Day with Anu Garg



esprit d'escalier (or esprit de l'escalier) PRONUNCIATION: (e-SPREE des-kal-i-YE)

MEANING: noun: Thinking of a witty remark too late; hindsight wit or afterwit. Also such a remark.

ETYMOLOGY: From French esprit de l'escalier, from esprit (wit) + escalier (stairs).

NOTES: We're all witty. It's just that many of us think of our clever remarks a bit too late. The French call it the staircase wit, indicating that one thought of that perfect retort on his or her way out.

USAGE: "I can think of hard, tough, one-line put-downs, but only after the person concerned has left the room. (NB: this affliction, esprit de l'escalier, is one of the principal reasons why people become writers.)"

Simon Barnes; Glitzy Game Gets Line Not Length All Wrong; The Times (London, UK); Jun 13, 2003.



"'You don't have a television?' The question is invariably accompanied by a baffled expression. ... Even as I'm writing this, my esprit d'escalier kicks in, and I start composing witty comebacks for future use: 'Oh, but those things run on electricity, don't they? We don't use electricity.'"

Eya Donald Greenland; There's Luxury in Life Without TV; Toronto Star (Canada); Mar 17, 2003.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: One father is more than a hundred schoolmasters. -English Proverb

We need your help



Help us continue to spread the magic of words to readers everywhere



Donate