the.com/rejoinder
The comeback that arrives dressed as a counterargument.
means A sharp, quick reply made in answer to someone else's remark or argument — especially one that pushes back.
from Comes from Anglo-French 'rejoindre,' meaning 'to join again,' from Latin 're-' (again) plus 'jungere' (to join). It started as a legal term in the 1500s for a defendant's formal answer to a plaintiff's reply — the court case as a volley of joined, re-joined, and re-re-joined statements. Over time it escaped the courtroom and settled into everyday speech for any reply that rejoins the argument, usually with a bit of an edge.
- legal roots
- originally a defendant's formal answer in court
- not just comeback
- implies a reply to a reply, not the first retort
- timing matters
- a rejoinder needs the original jab to land first