as it happens
By mere chance
As it happens introduces information that's coincidentally relevant or perhaps surprising given the context: As it happens, I was just about to call you.
The phrase signals that what follows is true by chance rather than by design, often countering an assumption or adding an unexpected twist to the conversation.
- incidentallyIntroducing a tangent
- en passantPawn takes adjacent pawn
- actuallyIn truth, not supposedly
- fortuitouslyBy lucky accident
- unexpectedlyWithout prior indication
out of the blue · coincidence · serendipitously · indeed · by the way · speaking of which · on that note · by accident · as a matter of fact · as it turns out · fancy that · sure enough · aside · anyway · chance · digression · parenthetical · come to think of it
- believe it or notsurprisingly, amazingly, incredibly, shockingly, remarkably
as it happensas expected
by design · according to plan · deliberately · intentionally · predictably
as it happensas you know
Presupposing listener's awareness
as expected · predictably · unsurprisingly · inevitably · of course
happen, happening, haphazard, happens, happened, happenings, happenstance, unhappen, haphazardness