Has the word “anymore” added a new meaning while I wasn’t looking? I’ve been noticing this for quite some time but thought it was people being stupid in a ‘lose-loose’ kind of way. But today I saw these three strange uses of the word ‘anymore’ on three different sites by three different people:
“Can’t believe I’m saying this but Illinois looks better in comparison to Wisconsin anymore.”
“The sad thing is that anymore, it’s hard to tell.”
“It makes me slightly wistful and melancholy to see someone use the term “MSM” in a non-ironic way anymore.”
Is it just me or is the word ‘anymore’ picking up a new meaning that I’m not grasping? Have you seen this? And what is it that the word ‘anymore’ is trying to convey in these sentences?
Well, thanks Diane. That kind of makes sense. And, BTW, this post almost included you saying exactly what I think about this use of anymore-- that it is wrongwrongwrongallfuckingkindsofwrong-- good thing I previewed!
Heh. Yeah, after I posted that, I realized that it could easily be interpreted as the definition being wrongwrongwrongallfuckingkindsofwrong, as opposed to the usage.
I use this construction. Not all the time, but sometimes. I enjoy the sort of misstepped folksyish way it sounds. It reminds me of (a subset of) the ways the word “ya” is used in Spanish.
Do you actually have trouble understanding the idea behind the sentences you posted, or are you just chuffed that the writers aren’t conforming to your idea of proper English? I realize we’re getting into prescriptivist/descriptivist territory and that people use similar arguments to excuse the (inexcusable) practice of text-speek encroaching into formal writing, but I like this one, so I’ll defend it.
2003! It’s taken me eight years to notice this. Perhaps, in accordance with Chessic’s cite, we can blame this creeping menace on the spread of Santorum across the country.
I actually did not understand what in the hell they meant by it. How does something happen in an anymore way? Seriously, until Diane pointed out it is being used in place of ‘nowadays’ I was baffled.
Not new at all, but it’s always been a peculiarly midwestern usage. “Anymore” is universally understood when used as part of a negative construction (“I don’t drink anymore.”), but in certain regions it’s common to hear it flipped like this:
“Groceries are getting so expensive anymore.”
“My lumbago hurts worse than ever anymore.”
I understand it just fine, but I suppose it might sound odd to ears not used to hearing it that way. As DianaG says, it’s generally a stand-in for “these days,” yet it usually carries a negative or pessimistic tone. You’ll seldom hear anyone say “My life is just dandy anymore!”
I think it’s a southern-US affectation. I’ve been comfortable with this idiomatic construction for my entire life, likely because my family is from West Virginia. I don’t say it, but I comprehend it. I can’t ever remember learning this like it was a “new thing.” It was just something I heard growing up and made sense based on the context.
Possibly ironic? Possibly kidding around? Not sure, but the phrasing “needs fixed here” seems wrong to me. Shouldn’t that be “needs fixing here” or “needs to be fixed here”?
I grew up in the Midwest. Both the subject of this thread (the odd usage of ‘anymore’) AND the usage of “needs fixed” in the post quoted above seemed to be somewhat common. Made my teeth grate every time I heard either of those things.