Anyways

Hello, you have A Way with Words.

Hi, this is Charlotte from Duluth, Minnesota.

Hi, Charlotte. Welcome.

Hey, Charlotte. What’s going on?

Well, I was listening to your show a week or two ago, and you were doing pet peeves.

Mm—

And I have a pet peeve, which is the word anyways.

This word has driven me up the wall always.

But I’ve been seeing it more lately, I think, and hearing it a lot.

And I saw it actually just a few weeks ago in a pretty legitimate online publication.

So I was wondering if this is really not a word or if I’m just like one of those stiffs who can’t accept the evolution of language.

Is that you? Are you describing yourself?

What’s the use that you’re talking about?

There’s a particular use of anyways, right?

Well, I mean, people use it where I would use just anyway.

So anyways, I was at the store yesterday and it just like grates on my ear,

But maybe it’s just me. I don’t know.

You use it to change the subject, right?

Yes.

Or just to kind of wrap up what you were just talking about, right?

And kind of move on from that subject.

Be that as it may.

Right, right.

Very interesting.

So anyways, you read it in a publication.

Do you remember what one?

I think it was Slate.

Am I right, Martha?

This isn’t a positive or an oppositional word.

It’s kind of like setting off what came before and opposition of what comes after.

Sure.

And traditionally we would say anyway.

What I meant to say was you’re welcome to come by the house on Saturday at 7 instead of 6, right?

So we just use it to kind of clarify, wrap up what we said before,

Say something new that restates the previous thought, right?

And so there are people that say anyways.

In some of the dictionaries, they indicate that it’s more or less focused in Southern American English

And maybe a little north of that.

But it’s so widely known now that it’s often used,

And this is where I’m getting at why, this is why I wanted to know the publication that you saw it in.

It’s often used now as an intentional device by writers to change the register.

So they’re writing about a really serious subject, say they’re talking about politics in the Middle East.

And then they’ll throw in, anyways, we need to get to the bottom of this and solve this problem.

And what they mean to say is, I’m going to drop out of my serious tone here and be a little milder with you,

So just so you know that I’m cool, right?

Just the way of letting you know that, like, I’m not all full of myself.

And we do that when we speak as well.

Saying anyways is a way of expressing, it’s a little bit about friendship and our alliance

With the other person, but it’s more or less about saying, look, I’m a casual regular fellow

Or gal, right?

So you’re saying that there’s a whole lot of meaning packed into that letter S.

Absolutely.

Anyway versus anyways, it’s a very different reception, isn’t it?

Yes, it is.

Yeah.

I don’t think it’s part of my vocabulary really.

Anyways.

If I use it, it is intentional.

I mean, I probably am using it in a way that like I’ve just said something that sounds very

Serious and I realize I sound like a prat.

That’s why he says anyways 500 times

A show. And then I’ll say anyways.

When don’t you sound

Like a prat? I can hear you asking.

But your point

Was that it annoys you and I hope what

We’ve done here, Charlotte, is just give you a little bit of background

So that when you hear it in the future

Instead of being annoyed you’re going to go oh wait

I see what they just did.

They changed the register of this conversation

To a little more casual with that

One word.

Right.

And I’m probably going to share that information with them and drive them crazy.

That’s the spirit.

That does help.

Thanks.

There you go.

All right.

Thanks for calling, Charlotte.

We really appreciate it.

Thank you.

Bye-bye.

Bye-bye.

Bye.