accidentally on purpose
adv1
Deliberately, though apparently accidentally.
- However, having accidentally-on-purpose got hold of a piece of the fish, down it went; and, apparently thinking that under the circumstances he might do worse, he set to work with no ill-will or appetite, and soon got through a good part of a haddock.1860, Cornwall Simeon, Stray Notes on Fishing and Natural History, page 159:
- What do you suppose she meant when she said, what had she done? Eh? Maybe it come to her then as she might have left them keys about, accidental on purpose.1937, Dorothy L. Sayers, Busman's Honeymoon:
2 more examples
- When a buffalo charges at her husband, Margot, directly in back of him and standing up in Wilson's open car, fires toward the buffalo and kills Francis — whether accidentally, on purpose, or accidentally on purpose, H. leaves ambiguous.2003, The Continuum Encyclopedia of American Literature, edited by Steven R. Serafin and Alfred Bendixen, page 512 (entry "Hemingway")
- “Or maybe,” Jack added, “her mother accidentally on purpose lost it.”2008, Karen White, The House on Tradd Street:
- Related terms
- casu consulto