Go to What I SHOULD Have Said... main page
Here is one story retold,
albeit with a pithier ending:
From Tea Drinker:
Cafe Rage
What happened: I was at an outdoor cafe with my friend on a windy day when a massive gust of wind blew all of our cups and a teapot onto the floor and smashed a plate glass window right beside us. A security guard came up and asked us what happened.
What I said: It was a gust of wind.
What I SHOULD have said: The service sucked so we trashed the place.
L'esprit d'escalier
The French call it l'esprit d'escalier, "the wit of the staircase," those biting ripostes that are thought of just seconds too late, on the way out of the room-or even, to tell the truth, days later. It's happened to you: you've suddenly thought of just what would put your foe in his or her place, but past the time when the arrow could sting its victim. You've stewed in your own juice ever since, and the chance for singeing repartee is gone forever.
Or is it?
Dorothy Parker or Oscar Wilde may have had the rapier wit to tweak their tormentors on the spot, but for the rest of us, we offer the Internet's only L'esprit d'escalier web site!
