Popular result, actually (2,6)
I believe the answer is:
in effect
'actually' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'popular result' is the wordplay.
'popular' becomes 'in' ('in' can mean trendy).
'result' becomes 'effect' (synonyms).
'in'+'effect'='IN EFFECT'
(Other definitions for in effect that I've seen before include "In force or in practice" , "Really; operative" , "In reality" , "Operating; to all intents" , "Working," .)