after the fact

1. After an actual occurrence, particularly after a crime. For example, I know the brakes should have been repaired, but that doesn't help much after the fact. The use of fact for a crime dates from the first half of the 1500s. The word became standard in British law and is still used in this way today. The idiom was first recorded in 1769 in the phrase accessories after the fact, referring to persons who assist a lawbreaker after a crime has been committed. Now it is also used more loosely, as in the example above.

Example Sentences

The best we can usually do is come up with broad explanations and make models after the fact.

From Slate

This approach transforms the dialogue from an attempted conversion into a legitimate conversation, wherein you’re merely offering your partner something to consider after the fact.

From Salon

“We suspect they were going through everything with a fine-tooth comb looking for anything to peg her with after the fact,” Gauthier said, adding that his client was cleared of wrongdoing.

From Los Angeles Times

“So you just preach to them by holding each other accountable, talking about them after the fact, not shying away from it.”

From Los Angeles Times

Nearly two decades after the fact, Anna Wintour is finally giving her review of “The Devil Wears Prada,” the 2006 Anne Hathaway comedy built around the onetime Vogue editor in chief’s notorious style of leadership.

From Los Angeles Times