A witty remark thought of too late, on the way home; the clever comment you wish you had delivered
Example:
"When he bragged about sleeping like a baby, I should have added the bit about waking up crying every two hours, but that's just esprit de l'escalier. At the time I just nodded and said nothing."
About the Word:
From the French for "staircase wit," this phrase was coined by 18th century encyclopedist Denis Diderot. As a simpler alternative to esprit de l'escalier, English speakers sometimes use escalator wit.
the logical mistake that one thing caused another just because it happened first
Example:
"Jen blamed the onset of her headache on the arrival of her in-laws, but that might just have been post hoc, ergo propter hoc."
About the Word:
This Latin phrase literally means "after this, therefore because of it." This error in logic is sometimes summed up as "correlation doesn't equal causation."
Comments by maverickdebx
maverickdebx commented on the word Esprit de l'escalier
Definition:
A witty remark thought of too late, on the way home; the clever comment you wish you had delivered
Example:
"When he bragged about sleeping like a baby, I should have added the bit about waking up crying every two hours, but that's just esprit de l'escalier. At the time I just nodded and said nothing."
About the Word:
From the French for "staircase wit," this phrase was coined by 18th century encyclopedist Denis Diderot. As a simpler alternative to esprit de l'escalier, English speakers sometimes use escalator wit.
September 26, 2012
maverickdebx commented on the word Post hoc, ergo propter hoc
Definition:
the logical mistake that one thing caused another just because it happened first
Example:
"Jen blamed the onset of her headache on the arrival of her in-laws, but that might just have been post hoc, ergo propter hoc."
About the Word:
This Latin phrase literally means "after this, therefore because of it." This error in logic is sometimes summed up as "correlation doesn't equal causation."
September 26, 2012