wrylie

wrylie

English

Etymology

Screenwriting jargon, originally an intentional misspelling of "wryly," for anomalous direction as parenthetically formatted on a separate line between a character title line and dialogue text line rather than as direction within the standard, separately formatted lines of scripted action in a screenplay.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɹaɪli/

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

• Homophones: Riley, wryly

Noun

wrylie (plural wrylies)

1. A parenthetical direction in a screenplay, especially in an instance of overuse.
   • 2020, Julie Gray, Just Effing Entertain Me: A Screenwriter's Atlas

     Avoid putting in a wrylie what should be in an action line. (walking faster) (looking her up and down) (peering over the edge of the cliff) (pouring coffee)

   • 2021, Trevor Mayes, "10 Rules For Using Parentheticals In Your Screenplay"

     Parentheticals, or actor/character directions, or “wrylies,” are those little descriptions that sometimes appear after a character’s name, in dialogue blocks, to spell out tone, intent or action.

2. (humorous, derogatory) A prosaic phrase, typically including an adverb with the -ly suffix, that attributes dialogue to a character. (Can we add an example for this sense?)

See also

• Tom Swifty