Treppenwitz

German

Etymology

From Treppe (“stairs, steps”) +‎ -n- +‎ Witz (“wit”), a calque of French esprit de l’escalier.

Pronunciation

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Noun

Treppenwitz m (genitive Treppenwitzes, plural Treppenwitze)

1. (fairly rare) staircase wit; l'esprit de l'escalier; a remark or rejoinder thought of only when it is too late
2. (more common) an ironic and absurd coincidence; something that, if it were not true, would seem like a bad joke

   ein Treppenwitz der Weltgeschichte ― an irony of world history

Further reading

• “Treppenwitz” in Duden online