l'esprit de l'escalier

Etymology
Borrowed from, with the definite article at the beginning of the term. It refers to a description of the phenomenon in the essay Paradoxe sur le comédien (, completed 1778 and published 1830) by the French encyclopedist and philosopher (1713–1784). During a dinner at the home of the statesman (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.

Noun

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

Translations

 * Arabic:
 * Chinese:
 * Mandarin: ,
 * Czech: esprit de l'escalier, opožděná duchaplnost
 * Estonian: tagantjärgi tark olema
 * Finnish: myöhään keksitty huomautus, myöhään keksitty letkaus, myöhään keksitty sutkaus
 * French: ,
 * German:
 * Icelandic: gáfaður eftir á
 * Japanese:
 * Korean:
 * Portuguese: espírito da escada
 * Russian: за́дний ум, ле́стничный ум, остроу́мие на ле́стнице
 * Serbo-Croatian:
 * Cyrillic: касна па̏ме̄т
 * Roman: kasna pȁmēt
 * Spanish: espíritu del escalador, ingenio de la escalera
 * Yiddish: טרעפּווערטער