Wicked Smart meaning explained as Casey Affleck grocery store encounter goes viral

Most celebrities like to lie low and not have their iconic lines recited back at them in public. However, actor Casey Affleck, threw a small tantrum when the opposite happened.

Casey Affleck (image by WireImage/Daniel Zuchnik)

A TikToker posted a video of her unusual experience with the Ocean's Eleven actor at her workplace. She narrated the incident, which took place in what she calls a 'Boston tourist trap' that sells 'Wicked Smart' t-shirts.

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What did Casey Affleck do?

The TikToker, @jillybees, was having a seemingly normal day at work when a woman approached the register to ask about 'Wicked Smart' t-shirts on display. The woman wanted to know where the expression originated, and Jill simply responded by saying that it was an inside joke about the Boston accent.

She added:

“We get that question from tourists all the time, so we say just like, inside joke about Boston accents.”

Upon hearing this, the woman's boyfriend yelled out a follow-up question from across the state. The couple, who happened to be actor Casey Affleck and his Caylee Cowen. Affleck asked:

"But where did it come from?"

Jill reiterated the same answer, much to his chagrin. He was not happy with the simple explanation and proceeded to educate Jill.

After Affleck told her that he had said the phrase in a movie, that's when Jill realize who she was talking to.

Jill explains her encounter with Casey Affleck (image via TikTok)

It took a couple of seconds, but Jill finally realized she was talking to the Good Will Hunting actor. Although Caylee asked Casey to stop, the actor continued to tell her that the quote was 25 years old, and even asked Jill for her age.

When Jill told her that she was 22, he proceeded to tell her about the movie, before sarcastically saying,

"Is that popular around here?"

In the meantime, Caylee kept asking Affleck to stop badgering the staff. Jill ended her video by saying that Casey Affleck was just upset that no one recognized him. She added that he kept complaining about the prices of the products to the point where he even made Caylee put something back.

Casey Affleck and Caylee Cowen (image via Getty Images/John Phillips)

The movie that Casey was referring to was the 1997 hit Good Will Hunting, and was written by his brother Ben Affleck, who also co-starred in it along with Matt Damon. In the movie, Casey appears as Morgan O'Mally and utters the phrase "My boy's wicked smart" during a bar scene.

At the end of the clip, Casey Anthony is seen uttering the now popular phrase.

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"Wicked smart" explained

Although Casey Affleck acted as if he had invented the phrase, 'wicked smart' has been around for longer than 1997. According to Boson Magazine, the word 'wicked' is used synonymously with 'very' acting as an adverb.

'Wicked smart' is used to denote someone with above average intelligence. The quote is used mostly by Boston natives owing to their strong accents. It was popularized by Good Will Hunting, along with other idiocyncrasies of the Bostonian accent, which soon made its way to popular TV.