Meaning of afterwit | Babel Free

Definitions

1. Wisdom which comes after the event.
   countable, uncountable
2. The lack of forethought.
   countable, uncountable
3. A good comeback, retort one thinks of only after the end of discussion or after leaving a social gathering.
   countable, uncountable

Examples

“After wits are dearely bought, / Let⟳ thy fore-wit guide⟳ thy thought.”

“1692, Roger L’Estrange (translator), Fables of Æsop, London: R. Sare et al., Fable 162, “A Nightingale and a Bat,” There’s No Recalling of what’s Gone and Past; so that After-Wit comes too Late when the Mischief is Done.”

“Trust⟳ me, dear Yorick, this unwary pleasantry of thine will sooner or later bring⟳ thee into scrapes and difficulties, which no after-wit can extricate thee out of.”

“There is always a danger of afterwit in estimating the early achievements of men who have⟳ achieved fame […].”

CEFR level