Meaning
What does Well Yes, But Actually No mean?
Well Yes, But Actually No is an inaccurate quote from the character Pirate Captain, originating from the short film titled “So You Want to Be a Pirate!”.
The misquote is seen with a screenshot of the scene and is used as a popular image macro meme since February 2019.
Alternatively, it may also be encountered as a reaction GIF and image macro on various forums and message boards.
Origin
What's the origin of Well Yes, But Actually No?
The story of the meme began in 2012, when the stop motion animation “The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists!” or as it is known in the US “The Pirates! Band of Misfits”.
The motion picture comes with an 18-minute short film, called “So You Want to Be a Pirate”.
In this short film, the renowned Pirate Captain is asked if his beard is luxuriant thanks to shouting, to which his response is “Good guess, but actually no.”
Due to his pronunciation of the sentence, it is understood by many to be “Well yes, but actually no” leading to the creation of the popular meme.
Spread & Usage
How did Well Yes, But Actually No spread?
The trend of the “Well yes, but actually no” meme began in February 2019, on the r/HistoryMemes subreddit with the misquote being published as an image macro to historical situations.
It quickly gained ground and had spread to most of the meme related Reddit subs, spreading in the form of reaction image macros and GIFs, appearing on sites like Reddit, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, as well as Imgur, 9GAG, FunnyJunk and iFunny.

External resources
- Know Your Meme – Well Yes, But Actually No
- Meming Wiki – Well Yes, But Actually No