esprit de l'escalier

[ es-pree duh le-skahl-yey ]

noun

, French.

1. a perfect comeback or witty remark that one frustratingly comes up with only when the moment for doing so has passed:

   Writers, by nature, tend to be people in whom l' esprit de l'escalier is a recurrent experience.

Word History and Origins

Origin of esprit de l'escalier¹

First recorded in 1905–10; literally, “wit of the staircase” (i.e., after one has left the gathering)