wrylie

Noun

wrylie (plural wrylies)

1. A parenthetical direction in a screenplay, especially in an instance of overuse.
   • 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
   • 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.2021, Trevor Mayes, "10 Rules For Using Parentheticals In Your Screenplay"
2. (derogatory, humorous) A prosaic phrase, typically including an adverb with the -ly suffix, that attributes dialogue to a character.