Stair joke
A stair joke is - in the original sense of a joke - a witty thought that occurs to someone a moment too late ("when going out on the stairs") and which can no longer be brought up in the current group or discussion. Friedrich Nietzsche compares the situation with the stair happiness he has shaped : "How the joke of some people does not keep pace with the opportunity, so that the opportunity is already through the door while the joke is still on the stairs."
The word formation stair joke has been documented in German since the first half of the 19th century. It was derived from the synonymous French l'esprit de l'escalier , a coinage by Denis Diderot from the 18th century, first mentioned in Paradoxe sur le comédien (1773).
In German, this term was introduced in the 1882 bestseller The stair joke of world history. Historical errors, distortions and inventions popularized by William Lewis Hertslet . Hertslet was referring to the tendency to retrospectively embellish historical events anecdotally. In his book he exposes and demystifies such anecdotes.
Today the expression stair joke is also used - deviating from the original meaning - for "irony of fate", "silly joke" or "inappropriate, ridiculous behavior". Historical incidents that - especially afterwards - seem absurd or ironic are referred to as the “stair joke of history”.
literature
- William Lewis Hertslet: The stair joke of world history. Historical errors, distortions and inventions 6th edition Haude & Spener in Berlin, 1905 (full text)
Web links
References and footnotes
- ^ Friedrich Nietzsche: Menschliches, Allzumenschliches . Vol. II, Leipzig 1900, p. 169.
- ↑ Winged words . Leipzig, Bibliographical Institute 1981.