as a matter of fact

as a matter of fact

1. (adverbial) Actually, in fact.
   • 1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter V, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:

     The house of Ruthven was a small but ultra-modern limestone affair, between Madison and Fifth; a pocket-edition of the larger mansions of their friends, but with less excuse for the overelaboration since the dimensions were only twenty by a hundred. As a matter of fact its narrow ornate façade presented not a single quiet space the eyes might rest on […]."

   • 1977 May 25, 48:03 from the start, in Star Wars (Star Wars)‎, episode IV (Science Fiction), Lucasfilm Ltd.:

     Greedo: Going somewhere, Solo? / Han Solo: Yes, Greedo. As a matter of fact, I was just going to see your boss. Tell Jabba that I've got his money.

   • 1992 May 3, “Comrade Bingo”, in Jeeves and Wooster, Series 3, Episode 6:

     R. Jeeves: An interesting theory, sir. Would you care to expatiate upon it?
     B.W. Wooster: As a matter of fact, no, Jeeves. The thought just occurred to me, as thoughts do.
     R. Jeeves: Very good, sir.

• As a matter of fact is often used to preface a statement that expands on the speaker's immediately previous claim, or exceeds it in its boldness.

  Gnomes are no larger than the children of our race. As a matter of fact, they're smaller.

  It's safe to say Mr. Chambers didn't benefit from the sale of his patents. As a matter of fact, he didn't see a single cent of the profits.

• in reality, really, truthfully, truth to tell; see also Thesaurus:actually