well actually

English

Etymology

From the cliché phrase Well, actually, used to belittle a coherent argument by implying it can be destroyed in a single sentence.

Noun

well actually (plural well actuallies)

1. An unwarranted correction, often given in a condescending manner.
   • 2011 February 7, Miguel de Icaza, “Well, Actually”, in tirania.org‎^[1]:

     The well-actually crowd wants as much as everyone else to participate in the conversation. They want to be loved. But instead of rolling with the punches and participating in a brainstorm of ideas and exploding humor, they contribute interruptions, facts and details that merely produce stop energy on an ongoing discussion. They turn the center of attention towards them. The well-actually crowd means well. They want to be loved, they just have not realized that they are undermining their own quest for friends.

   • 2015 March 25, “The Recurse Center User's Manual”, in Recurse Center‎^[2], archived from the original on 25 March 2015:

     A well-actually happens when someone says something that's almost - but not entirely - correct, and you say, "well, actually…" and then give a minor correction. This is especially annoying when the correction has no bearing on the actual conversation. This doesn't mean the Recurse Center isn't about truth-seeking or that we don't care about being precise. Almost all well-actually's in our experience are about grandstanding, not truth-seeking. (Thanks to Miguel de Icaza for originally coining the term "well-actually.")

   • 2016 February 12, “Kanye West Clarifies That “Famous” Taylor Swift Lyric, Says She Was Cool With It”, in VIBE.com‎^[3]:

     While some people might’ve taken this statement as a diss aimed at the “Bad Blood” singer, Yeezy shared his “well actually” clarification, and said Swift gave him the green light to state that.

   • 2019 November 2, “How do you deal with "well, actually" people?”, in Reddit.com‎^[4]:

     Altho in this one group there is a “well actually” person. So much so that everyone makes fun of him for it and he ends up being the butt of jokes bc of it. In that specific scenario I rebel against the group and get really mad at everyone and take the side of the “well actually” person even tho it annoys me too lol.

   • 2021, The Sisters of Dorley, page 1428:

     “You know what it’s been like down here since the broken toys got put away? Actually kind of bearable! We’ve been able to have conversations and eat lunch and do big, girthy shits without Will barging in and well actually-ing us or one of you calling us gay for speaking in complete sentences!

   • 2023 April 12, “Pragmatic Architecture - keeping an open mind”, in skyworkz‎^[5], archived from the original on 26 November 2023:

     It becomes a little annoying though when you've been working with a client for months, assessing their current situation, their objectives, their constraints, and their organizational agility to cope with architectural change... only to get well-actuallied by someone who heard about your case 3 minutes ago.

See also

• 🤓☝️
• mansplaining