oops

Go to What I SHOULD Have Said... main page

Here is one story retold, albeit with a pithier ending:


From Gyromancer:

Fairy Tale Ending...

What happened: Sat in a busy Plymouth bar with a group of old friends chewing the fat. As the evening wore on seating became a premium. Eventually three of Plymouth's finest young women wandered over to enquire about the availability of the two spare chairs at our table, and whether it might be possible to join our table.

What I said: Sure, but where's the one who built out of bricks going to sit?

What I SHOULD have said: Nothing. A rare case where I said something people wish they had thought about saying later. And got a cold pint of beer poured over me for my smarts.

on the stairs

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!



stairs