Meanings
plural wrylies
- A parenthetical direction in a screenplay, especially in an instance of overuse.
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.
1 more example
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)
2020, Julie Gray, Just Effing Entertain Me: A Screenwriter's Atlas - derogatoryhumorousA prosaic phrase, typically including an adverb with the -ly suffix, that attributes dialogue to a character.
Origin
Screenwriting jargon, originally a deliberate misspelling of wryly.
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Sounds the same
Cite this entry
wrylie. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wrylie
“wrylie.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wrylie. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “wrylie,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wrylie.
Source: wrylie on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.