all very well

Idioms  

1. All right or quite true as far as it goes. For example, It's all very well for Jane to drop out, but how will we find enough women to make up a team? This idiom, first recorded in 1853, generally precedes a question beginning with “but,” as in the example. Also see well and good.

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Example Sentences

“Do not listen, little future person! Behaving like a wild animal is all very well for your father’s wolfish wards, but it will never do for the heir to this great estate!”

From Literature

“To say we are going to England is all very well, but how? It must involve being high up, since Mater Lumley asked if I was afraid of heights,” Penelope mused.

From Literature

“That’s all very well on the farm. It’s different when the cow wants you to hold her hand, sing songs, and tell stories the whole blessed time! I’m running out of material.”

From Literature

Book learning is all very well, but as Agatha Swanburne liked to say, “If you want fresh ideas in your head, get some fresh mud on your boots.”

From Literature

“Sights and sounds are all very well, but I prefer a nice lady’s hat shop myself,” Mrs. Clarke said, with a dreamy look on her face.

From Literature