anythingpron.n.adv.

Brit.

/ˈɛnɪθɪŋ/, U.S.

/ˈɛniˌθɪŋ/

Forms:

α. See any adj., pron., n., and adv. and thing n.¹; also regional and nonstandard 1800s– anythin, 1800s– anythin', 1800s– onythin, 1800s– onythin', 1900s– anytin', 1900s– anyting; Scottish (chiefly central) 1900s– anyhin, 1900s– oanyhin, 1900s– onyhin, 1900s– onythan (Dundee).

β. (As adverb) early Old English aengi dinga (transmission error), early Old English aengi þinga, Old English ænge ðing, Old English æniga þinga, Old English æniga ðinga, Old English ænige þinga, Old English ænige ðinga, Old English ænigra þinga.

See also anyfink pron. and n., anythink pron. and n.

Origin: Formed within English, by compounding. Etymons: any adj., thing n.¹

Etymology: < any adj. + thing n.¹ Compare aught pron. Compare also any pron. and n. and Old English ǣnig wiht anything, any creature, (as adverb) at all (compare wight n. 3a).Sometimes (especially in early use) written as two words, now usually only to indicate stress on the second element, as ‘any thing, but not any person’. (Word division in Old English and Middle English examples frequently reflects editorial choices of modern editors of texts, rather than the practice of the manuscripts.) In use as adverb in Old English typically as ǣnige þinga (see β. forms), apparently showing ǣnige , neuter instrumental of ǣnig any pron. and n. + þinga , (partitive) genitive plural of þing thing n.¹ Compare also (rare) ǣnigra þinga , with genitive plural ending on both elements. However, already in Old English uninflected ǣnig þing is occasionally attested in adverbial use (compare quot. OE² at sense B. a).

A. pron. and n.

I. As a pronoun.

1. Often with complement.

a. Chiefly in negative, interrogative, or conditional contexts: a (material or immaterial) thing of whatever type; even the least thing; (also) some unspecified thing, something.

ΚΠ

OE West Saxon Gospels: John (Corpus Cambr.) i. 46 Mæg ænig þing [L. aliquid] godes beon of Nazareth?

OE Wulfstan Baptism (Hatton 113) (1957) 182 And æfre swa þæt cild raðost ænig ðing specan mæge, tæce man him sona ealra þinga ærest pater noster & credan.

?a1200 (?OE) Peri Didaxeon (1896) 13 Ȝif ani þing innan þa eaȝen byfulþ, þanne sceal man nime mede oððer wyfes meolc and do innan þa eaȝen.

?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 53 Weðer ani þing harmi mare.

a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) i. l. 2419 Whan thou hast taken eny thing Of loves yifte..Wherof thin herte was the bettre [etc.].

?c1450 (?a1400) J. Wyclif Eng. Wks. (1880) 388 More sikirnes..may no man make of eny-þinge.

c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 136^v I haue not errit in anythyng.

1563 in W. Fraser Sutherland Bk. (1892) II. 6 Being lothe..to do any thing herin to the mislyking of the Queene.

1611 Bible (King James) John xiv. 14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.

1627 J. Smith Sea Gram. ii. 12 Lockers to put any thing in, as in little Cupberts.

1702 in C. B. Gunn Bk. Linton Church (1912) 84 Mary Brown never saw anything betwixt them.

1781 J. Wesley Let. 31 Mar. (1931) VII. 53 I am in doubt whether anything will much avail Sister Harrison till she takes the quicksilver.

1837 W. B. Adams Eng. Pleasure Carriages 158 Few carriage builders care to introduce anything new.

1857 H. T. Buckle Hist. Civilisation Eng. I. xii. 670 If the contest..had been conducted with anything approaching to moderation.

1904 R. T. Ely & G. R. Wicker Elem. Princ. Econ. 81 A good or utility is anything which can satisfy a human want.

1962 Daily Tel. 17 July 17/6 If anything should go wrong with the lunar space-craft..unmanned supply vehicles would be sent.

2008 R. Drake Dead Place xvii. 185 I'm not accusing you of anything. You're the only one doing the accusing.

b. In affirmative contexts, frequently with emphatic force: a member of a (specified) class without restriction or limitation; (also) every member of a specified class (cf. any adj. 1c).

ΚΠ

a1504 J. Holt Lac Puerorum (1511) sig. C6^v A Pronowne is a parte of speche. the whyche is sett for a propre name of a man or any thyng else.

1533 T. More 2nd Pt. Confut. Tyndals Answere iv. p. xxvi And yf he meane so, yet sayth he then as false as any thyng can be false.

1604 J. Godskall Arke of Noah sig. I Some in the Countrey doo spend their time in exercises, by which they may maintaine their health, and strengthen their bodies, that they may bee able to doo any thing.

1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 1. ¶8 I would gratifie my Reader in any thing that is reasonable.

a1855 M. R. Mitford in A. G. L'Estrange Life M. R. Mitford (1870) I. v. 114 Anything in the remotest degree connected with Napoleon excites my curiosity.

1915 Reno (Nevada) Evening Gaz. 25 Aug. 4/1 Anything will grow in this state and will produce a profit, too, for the grower.

1964 C. Chaplin My Autobiogr. xviii. 317 I'd do anything—get a job—do extra work in films.

2011 Independent 22 Apr. 27/1 Our patience is sorely tested by anything that doesn't grab us instantly.

c. Used to express the breadth of possibility or the limits of variation. Frequently in anything from —— to ——: any item, style, quantity, etc., within the described scope. Cf. anywhere adv. 3.

ΚΠ

1831 New Eng. Farmer 7 Dec. 168/3 With anything—from a shaving box to a ship,..the Yankee always wishes to ‘go ahead’.

1889 Pall Mall Gaz. 19 Oct. 6/1 His figures..run to anything between a fiver and two or three hundred oners.

1928 L. North Parasites 14 It appeared that you could buy anything from a home to a Hula-skirt on time-payment.

1970 House & Garden May 140/3 The province of Lazio grows the famous white Frascati, a wine that can be anything from quite dry to very sweet.

2000 Newsweek 1 Jan. 89/2 A microchip..that can hold 25 nanoliters of anything from painkillers to antibiotics.

2. Any part, share, or quantity of a thing; (also) any aspect, evidence, or quality of a thing or person. Cf. nothing pron. and n. 2a, something n. 2a.

ΚΠ

OE Will of Ælfhelm (Sawyer 1487) in D. Whitelock Anglo-Saxon Wills (1930) 34 Gif hwa æfre ænig þinc of þysum cwyde awende oþþe ætbrede, sy him Godes ar..æfre ætbroden.

1416 in C. L. Kingsford Rep. MSS Ld. de l'Isle & Dudley (1925) I. 205 I will that, if anything of them [sc. manors] be tailled, [they] passe after the tenur of the taille to the next heir.

1532 R. Bowyer in J. Strype Eccl. Memorials (1721) I. xvii. 135 He intendeth not to infringe, annul, derogate, defray or minish anything of the popes authority.

1645 J. Lightfoot Comm. Acts vi. 104 That hee should..deny the puritie of the Greeke text, before hee will ungive any thing of his owne groundlesse opinion.

1677 A. Yarranton England's Improvem. 136 These Spouts convey the Corn into the Barges without anything of labour.

1725 J. Collier Several Disc. 316 The blessed Spirits..are too good to have anything of State or Exceptiousness in them.

1764 T. Harmer Observ. Passages Script. i. 2 I do not know that this has been done with anything of copiousness and particularity.

1793 J. Smeaton Narr. Edystone Lighthouse (ed. 2) §100 When there is any thing of a ground swell.

1800 E. Hervey Mourtray Family II. 56 Pho! pho! there is no fear of their knowing any thing of the matter.

1872 G. W. Dasent Three to One III. 241 Have either of you seen anything of Mr. Fortescue in town?

1914 T. S. Eliot Let. 5 Oct. (1988) I. 60 If you hear anything of German universities being open for neutrals in the spring, I hope you will let me know.

1935 H. R. Patch Trad. Boethius 121 Writers..borrowed from the scheme of Boethius without catching anything of his spirit.

1999 J. Burchill Married Alive ii. 33 Liza, you haven't seen anything of Nicola these past few weeks, have you?

II. As a noun.

3. An unspecified thing, a thing of any kind; (frequently with possessive adjective) a thing, of whatever kind.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > kind or sort > generality > [noun] > state of being non-specific > unspecified thing(s) > anything

whateOE

aughtOE

anywhata1400

what-not1540

anything1607

the world > relative properties > kind or sort > generality > [noun] > state of being non-specific > unspecified thing(s) > anything > a thing of any kind

lastc1480

anything1607

any old thing1895

1607 T. Dekker & G. Wilkins Iests to make you Merie 24 So will hee vpon any occasion of reuengement shift himselfe into seuerall suites of Apparell, into a mans dish, his drinke his nosegay, his any thing.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Taming of Shrew (1623) iii. iii. 104 I will be master of what is mine owne... She is my house..My horse, my oxe, my asse, my any thing .

1691 R. Baxter End of Doctrinal Controv. 50 Before Things are Any-things a purposing and fore-seeing Agent may make Names and Notions for them.

1736 Bp. J. Butler Analogy of Relig. Diss. i. 303 In a strict and philosophical Manner of Speech,..no Being, no Mode of Being, no Any-thing, can be the same with That, with which it hath indeed Nothing the same.

1768 A. Tucker Light of Nature Pursued I. i. 256 A new play, a new pattern of flowered silk, or a new anything.

1835 A. M. Hall Outlaw I. xii. 267 What can a heretic promise by that he holds holy? He has no Virgin, no saints, no anything!

1899 H. A. Jones Masqueraders 108 I am your slave, your dog, your anything!

1921 Boys' World Nov. 32/4 Being a good engineer, or a good anything, means that you must be a well-rounded man.

1981 J. Clavell Noble House 573 If you ever again use my name, my chop, my anything without my approval you're a dead man.

1991 ‘John-Roger’ & P. McWilliams Life 101 iv. 227 And be grateful that, although you can't have everything, there are some very nice anythings awaiting your selection.

B. adv.

a. In any way; to any extent; at all. Cf. anything like at Phrases 2, anything near at Phrases 5. Somewhat archaic in later use.Chiefly in negative or conditional contexts. Now only in statements involving comparison.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > kind or sort > generality > [adverb] > in any way or respect

anythingeOE

aughteOE

anywisea1225

anywaysc1225

anywaya1400

aughtways1878

the world > relative properties > quantity > degree or relative amount of a quality, action, etc. > [adverb] > in any degree or at all

anythingeOE

aughteOE

oughtsOE

anywisea1225

anyc1300

anywaya1400

at all1476

ever1548

anywhat1576

anyways1673

earthly1833

aughtways1878

eOE Épinal Gloss. (1974) 45 Quoquomodo, aengi þinga.

OE Beowulf (2008) 791 Nolde eorla hleo ænige þinga þone cwealmcuman cwicne forlætan.

OE Ælfric Old Eng. Hexateuch: Num. (Laud) xxii. 34 Gif þe min færeld ænig þing mislicað, ic fare eft ongean.

c1300 St. Edmund Rich (Laud) l. 179 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 436 Ȝwan he stoupede ani-þing, is flechs was so for-gnawe Þat [etc.].

c1400 ( G. Chaucer Treat. Astrolabe (Cambr. Dd.3.53) (1872) ii. §38. 47 Til that the schadwe..passe ony-thyng owt of the cercle.

1480 Cronicles Eng. (Caxton) ccxv. sig. n6^v Yf my lady your wyfe come any thyng nye yo.

1551 R. Robinson in tr. T. More Vtopia Epist. sig. ✠v^v Mine old good wil..is not..any thinge at all quayled.

1590 R. Harvey Plaine Percevall 16 A Minister that hath any thing a fat benefice.

1653 H. Phillippes Purchasers Pattern 17 If he be anything young.

1787 Brit. Mercury 17 Dec. 385 It was not any thing equal to the sea scene in Don Juan.

1861 T. P. Thompson Audi Alteram Partem III. clxx. 196 Not furious anything, either for good or evil.

1904 County & Munic. Rec. 24 May 124/3 There is no other place in this country where the evil is anything so marked as in the above loch.

2005 A. J. Bruney Microsoft Office Web Components Black Bk. v. 194 The final data need not look anything similar to the original raw data.

b. Followed by the and a comparative. Now usually in to be anything the worse (for something); chiefly in negative or conditional contexts. Cf. nothing adv. 1c.

ΚΠ

a1535 T. More Hist. Richard III in Wks. (1557) 40/2 Of which..none of vs hath any thing the lesse nede, for the late made attonemente.

1568 H. Billingsley tr. P. M. Vermigli Most Learned Comm. Epist. Romanes i. f. 13^v Neyther was that kingdome any thing the better for Plato.

1681 R. Alleine Instr. Heart-work 228 Are you any thing the more in fear of sin?

1759 C. Wheatly Rational Illustr. Bk. Common Prayer (ed. 8) xii. 434 Not that the Dead are any thing the better for the honours which we perform to their corps.

1811 S. Taggart View Evid. of Christianity viii. 278 A man is nothing better if he happens to embrace the truth, nor any thing the worse for a mistake.

1891 O. Wilde in Fortn. Rev. 1 Feb. 293 Each member of the society will share in the general prosperity,..and if a frost comes no one will..be anything the worse.

1909 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 30 Jan. 260/1 Not one of the men..was anything the worse for the instantaneous decompression.

1990 Jrnl. Interdisciplinary Hist. 20 676 Was anybody or anything the worse off for such progress?

Phrases

P1. anything else: any other thing; anything in addition or as an alternative. Cf. nothing else at nothing pron., n., adv., and int. Phrases 1b.

ΚΠ

OE Glosses to Memoriale of Benedict of Aniane in A. S. Napier Enlarged Rule of Chrodegang (1916) 126 Quando prior benedicit cibum uel potum, uel aliquid quicquam, non sedendo sed stando benedicat : þonne se ealdor bletsað mete oððe drencg oððe ænig þing elles na sittende ac standende he bletsie.

c1460 Tree & 12 Frutes (McClean) (1960) 7 (MED) Ȝif þou yn-wardly considere þees þinges, þou shalt raþer list wepe þan do any þing ellis.

1574 J. Whitgift Def. Aunswere to Admon. Tract viii. v. §13 Here is neither scripture, doctor, story, council, or anything else.

1678 N. Wanley Wonders Little World iii. xliv. §28. 227/2 Muskets..to shoot Bullets without Powder, or anything else but..Air compressed in the bore of it.

1743 M. Catesby Nat. Hist. Carolina II. p. iii Rice Land [in Carolina] is..only productive of that grain, it being too wet for anything else.

1861 Amer. Agriculturist July 213/1 In the four million families where washing is being done this morning, the number who use anything else than the old wash-board, is..small.

1952 V. Canning House of Seven Flies iii. 53 Charlie had ventured too far in search of black market vino, prosciutto and anything else he could lay his hands on.

1986 L. A. Lemaître Between Flight & Longing ii. 65 Asking nonchalantly for the issue containing her story, she was told,..‘That's sold out! Would you like anything else?’

2011 Independent 29 Mar. (Viewspaper section) 4/5 Here is the true face of Cameronism. Big business matters more than anything else.

P2. anything like: (with noun) in any way like; in any way similar (†to); (in other constructions) in any way approaching; by any means. Cf. something like at something adv. 3.Frequently in negative contexts (cf. nothing like at nothing pron., n., adv., and int. Phrases 5a).

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > quantity > degree or relative amount of a quality, action, etc. > degree or relative amount [phrase] > in any degree or at all

anything like1529

with least or most1575

for any sake1824

1529 T. More Dyaloge Dyuers Maters i. xviii. f. xxiii/1 The lawes of Cryste..bee not in hardnes & dyffyculte of kepyng any thyng lyke to the lawes of Moyses.

1625 J. Layfield in S. Purchas Pilgrimes IV. vi. iii. 1172 Their Pines are in shape like a Pine-apple,..but neither in feeling or taste are they any thing like.

1647 J. Fletcher & P. Massinger Little French Lawyer ii. i. 59 Can you pretend an excuse now may absolve you, Or any thing like honest, to bring you off?

1664 H. More Modest Enq. Myst. Iniquity ii. xxi. 436 I demand concerning these, and what-ever else looks any thing like either an Antichristian Imposition or Imposture, [etc.].

1786 T. Mortimer tr. J. Necker Treat. Admin Finances France (ed. 2) II. i. 28 We must now estimate the savings on the charges; they would not be any thing like so considerable as it is generally imagined.

1793 J. Bentham Wks. (1843) x. 239 The £600 a-year..I do not look upon as anything like adequate.

1805 M. Lewis Jrnl. 6 Aug. in Jrnls. Lewis & Clark Exped. (1988) V. 54 The N. W. or rapid fork..dose not at all seasons of the year supply any thing like as much water as the other.

1860 Punch 8 Dec. 223/1 Labourers on their estates are..perhaps not anything like so well fed as the Stevensone fox hounds.

1875 J. O'Rourke Hist. Great Irish Famine vii. 196 To have met the Potato Famine with anything like complete success, would have been a Herculean task for any government.

1914 Black Cat Oct. 28/1 Do I look anything like a burglar? Being a policeman you ought to know the breed.

1957 New Scientist 12 Sept. 42/3 Scientists do not go in, in anything like sufficient numbers, for civic or political work.

2009 Guardian Unlimited (Nexis) 16 Sept. The new and recent evidence..cannot be mitigated anything like so easily.

P3. (as) — as anything.

a. Very, extremely, or extraordinarily —; (as) — as can be. colloquial in later use.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > greatly or very much [phrase] > extremely

like mada1375

with a mischief1538

(as) — as anything1542

with a vengeance1568

with a siserary1607

(to be pleased) to a feathera1616

in (the) extremea1616

with the vengeance1693

to a degree1740

like hell1776

like the devil1791

like winky1830

like billy-o1885

(like) seven shades of ——1919

like a bandit1943

on wheels1943

1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus Apophthegmes f. 29^v Thesame maiden..daunced without any feare at all emong sweardes and kniues, beeyng as sharp as any thyng.

1676 T. Hobbes tr. Homer Iliads ii. 32 [He] thought To take Troy now as sure as any thing.

1698 T. D'Urfey Campaigners Pref. 11 To call 'em Colliers would be as significant as any thing.

1736 H. Walpole Lett. (1861) I. 8 A disconsolate wood-pigeon in our grove..is so allicholly as any thing.

1740 S. Richardson Pamela II. 58 I fear your Girl will grow as proud as any thing.

1841 T. C. Haliburton Clockmaker New Ser. viii. 71 She keeps a-sayin'—Well, he's a witch!..now I never! do tell!—as pleased all the time as anything.

1909 A. A. Milne in Punch 16 June 420/1 I feel as fit as anything this morning. I'm absolutely safe for a century.

1965 F. Raphael Darling xviii. 83 The soft toys were cuddlesome as anything.

2009 Star (Sheffield) (Nexis) 20 Nov. He was daft as anything and soft as a brush.

b. As — as any comparable thing; as — as any alternative.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > discovery > comparison > in comparison with [phrase]

in (the) (also to the) reward of1340

(as) to or unto the regard of or toa1400

at (the) regard ofa1400

in regard ofa1400

in regard toa1400

in respect ofc1400

in respect to1526

(as) — as anything1548

come1925

1548 N. Udall et al. tr. Erasmus Paraphr. Newe Test. I. Luke i. f. xvii^v As the fruitfulnesse of matrimonie was reputed for a certayne thyng of great Royaltie: so was barainnesse in as muche reproche as any thing.

1678 H. More Let. 25 May 5 in J. Glanvill Saducismus Triumphatus (1681) It was, and sometimes yet is, as much discoursed of in the North-Countrey, as any thing.

1793 W. Roberts Looker-on No. 52. 414 What has given me as much trouble as any thing, has been the multitude of little improvements in the most diminutive articles of ordinary use.

1867 Macmillan's Mag. June 114/1 I consider Mayduke cherries as fine as anything.

1928 Daily Express 11 Aug. 4/2 On Dartmoor streams..I found a small alder and a black gnat as effective as anything.

2011 Sc. Sun (Nexis) 23 June 62 Putting is a mental thing and a change is as good as anything because I can't putt any worse.

P4. anything much: a great amount; anything significant or of importance. Frequently in negative constructions. Cf. nothing much at nothing pron., n., adv., and int. Phrases 11.

ΚΠ

1664 W. Drage Physical Nosonomy 67 Nor is any thing much to be attributed to the colour or consistence of an Humour.

1743 Daily Gaz. 17 Nov. Her Intrigues with these Courts can never produce any Thing much for her Service.

1859 Child's Compan. & Juvenile Instructor (Religious Tract Soc.) 39 Amy was too weary to notice anything much, or to care about it if she had.

1928 J. Galsworthy Swan Song ii. v, in Mod. Comedy (1929) 637 I expect he's too young to be conscious of anything much except being thoroughly uncomfy.

1958 A. Sillitoe Loneliness Long Distance Runner 21 When the dough ran out I didn't think about anything much, but just roamed the streets.

2008 P. Hensher Northern Clemency 7 She didn't say anything much. They've got two children, nine, and a fourteen-year-old girl, I think she said.

P5. anything near: nearly, anywhere near; in any way.Often in negative contexts (cf. nothing near at nothing pron., n., adv., and int. Phrases 5b, near adv.² 3).

ΚΠ

1665 R. Boyle Let. 23 Dec. in Corr. (2001) II. 607 Diurnalls are the only printed things that have any thing near as quick & generall a Vent as formerly.

1720 E. Calamy Discontented Complaints prov'd Unreasonable (ed. 2) 14 It must be own'd that we are not any Thing near so well acquainted with former Times as with our own.

1757 Biographia Britannica IV. 2235 I think no other reformed Church of Christendom any thing near comparable unto it.

1845 Amer. Railroad Jrnl. 5 June 411/3 We have not anything near enough surplus labour in the country, to accomplish this work in the time.

1879 T. M. Cooley Treat. Law Taxation xix. 409 The result will fail to come anything near a verification of the calculations.

1923 G. Collins Valley of Eyes Unseen i. 29 Neither blow was a true king hit, however, and neither Chink was anything near knocked out.

1982 G. Frost & Y. Frost Astral Trav. (1986) viii. 143 I've only got one other case that's anything near as good as this one.

2010 W. Powers Hamlet's Blackberry ii. v. 88 Not anything near as busy as today's cities but, by the standards of their time, busy indeed.

P6. like anything: to a great or extraordinary degree; very much, fast, well, etc. Formerly also †like to anything.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > manner of action > vigour or energy > acting vigorously or energetically [phrase] > with great vigour or energy

with (also in) mood and maineOE

vigour13..

with or by (all one's) might and mainc1330

with (one's) forcec1380

like anything1665

hammer and tongs1708

like stour1787

(in) double tides1788

like blazes1818

like winking1827

with a will1827

like winky1830

like all possessed1833

in a big way1840

like (or worse than) sin1840

full swing1843

like a Trojan1846

like one o'clock1847

like sixty1848

like forty1852

like wildfire1857

like old boots1865

like blue murder1867

like steam1905

like stink1929

like one thing1938

like a demon1945

up a storm1953

1665 R. Monsey Scarronides 31 Up stairs they run unto the King, And here they fight like any thing.

?1670 Poor Robins Observ. upon Whitsun-holidays (single sheet) When merry catches they do sit and sing, And love each other like to anything.

1695 W. Congreve Love for Love v. i. 81 I have been looking up and down for you like any thing.

1769 S. Gunning Hermit I. xii. 155 I to be sure, Madam, was quite daunted, and blushed like any thing.

1778 F. Burney Evelina I. xxi. 157 All the people in the pit are without hats, dressed like any thing.

1864 Eton School Days ii. 21 That building on the right is Tuggery, where the Tug-Muttons live; you'll hate the Tugs like anything.

1871 ‘L. Carroll’ Through Looking-glass iv. 73 They wept like anything to see Such quantities of sand.

1938 J. Grenfell Let. 18 Dec. in Darling Ma (1989) 81 He and R. got on like anything.

2010 Metro (Scotl. ed.) (Nexis) 10 Nov. 54 We must put New Zealand under pressure when they've got the ball and fight like anything to get it back.

P7. anything but.

a. By no means; not at all.

(a) Modifying a predicate.

ΚΠ

1788 Gentleman's Mag. Jan. 59/1 Elgin is any thing but that most elegant and laboured Gothic building in all the North.

1850 W. Wordsworth Prelude x. 279 Grief call it not, 'twas anything but that.

1874 T. Hardy Far from Madding Crowd I. xxix. 320 His being higher in learning and birth than the ruck of soldiers is anything but a proof of his worth.

1904 Agitator (Wellsboro, Pa.) 13 July 4/5 The engine is anything but modern.

1954 J. Thompson Nothing Man v. 47 I told them..that you were anything but a nympho but also very far from frigid.

1998 I. de la Bere Last Deception Palliser Wentwood ix. 239 He was anything but disinterested.

(b) Modifying an attributive adjective or adverb, or occasionally a noun. Usually with hyphens.

ΚΠ

1831 London Lit. Gaz. 26 Mar. 204/2 The anything but Sigh-amese twins.

1897 Westm. Gaz. 1 Oct. 2/1 The anything-but-particular denominationalists.

1933 Times Lit. Suppl. 16 Feb. 106/2 Richard Roe, the posthumous anything-but-hero.

2000 Guardian 22 Apr. i. 16/1 We wallow in our subjecthood, unable to break free from an anything-but-United Kingdom.

b. With anaphoric reference: quite the reverse of (the previously stated thing).

ΚΠ

1944 S. E. H. Beach Amabel & Mary Verena i. 12 ‘It sounds as if you were not altogether a Christian young gentleman.’ ‘Anything but.’

1960 News Chron. 27 July 4/2 The aspirin age needed its drugs largely because the fair sex tried so hard to look anything but.

1994 Washington Post (Nexis) 4 July d1 That sounds typically museumish, but the annual festivities that emerged were anything but.

2008 Independent 19 Mar. (Property section) 5/1 If the term itself..sounds comical, its effects are anything but.

P8. or anything: or any other (similar) thing; or anything else. Used as a substitute for a longer or more specific description. Cf. or something at something n. 1f.Often acting simply as a conversational filler.

ΚΠ

1813 J. Austen Pride & Prejudice III. ix. 166 I did not once put my foot out of doors... Not one party, or scheme, or any thing .

1874 T. Hardy Far from Madding Crowd I. iii. 36 How soft it is—being winter time, too—not chapped or rough, or anything!

1906 J. M. Synge Lett. to Molly (1971) 50 Dont imagine I'm huffed or anything, little heart, I'm only weary.

1969 G. Chapman et al. Monty Python's Flying Circus (1989) I. iii. 30 They're not even married or anything, they're not even divorced.

2005 L. Dean This Human Season (2006) xxx. 191 I'm not stupid or anything, I'm just more of a doer than a thinker.

P9. colloquial. too —— for anything: extremely, excessively ——. Cf. too —— for words at word n. and int. Phrases 1d. Now rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > greatly or very much [phrase] > extremely or excessively

out of (also over, without) measure1340

with a pestilence1594

too —— for anything?a1832

?a1832 F. Trollope Notebks. in Domest. Manners Amer. (1949) App. A. 428 Too hot for anything. Too bad for anything.

1835 Finesse I. xiii. 213 Never saw such a flirtation in my life—I declare it is too bad for any thing.

1894 J. C. Harris in Los Angeles Times 23 Dec. 21/5 The young lady said I was too prissy for anything.

1925 G. K. Chesterton Tales of Long Bow viii. 281 ‘Really,’ she said, laughing, ‘you are too ridiculous for anything.’

P10. U.S. colloquial. he (she, etc.) didn't do anything else: (as a strong affirmation of a preceding question or statement) ‘that's exactly what he, she, etc., did’. Now rare.

ΚΠ

1845 Adams Sentinel (Gettysburg, Pennsylvania) 17 Nov. 1/4 What did our hero do but court and marry her. ‘He didn't do anything else!’ and is now in possession of the whole fortune.

1859 J. R. Bartlett Dict. Americanisms (ed. 2) at Any thing else Loco Foco. Didn't Gen. Cass get mad at Hull's cowardice, and break his sword? Whig. He didn't do anything else.

1886 Anglers' Jrnl. 3 July 322/1 ‘By the Lord Harry, Jed, did you shoot the Colonel's horse?’ ‘I didn't do anything else.’

1905 Dial. Notes 3 2 ‘He didn't do anything else’, meaning he did just that.

P11. anything goes: see go v. 17b(a). if anything: see if conj. 5. if anything should happen and variants: see happen v. 1b(a).

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2016; most recently modified version published online December 2021).

单词	anything
释义	anythingpron.n.adv. Brit. /ˈɛnɪθɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈɛniˌθɪŋ/ Forms: α. See any adj., pron., n., and adv. and thing n.¹; also regional and nonstandard 1800s– anythin, 1800s– anythin', 1800s– onythin, 1800s– onythin', 1900s– anytin', 1900s– anyting; Scottish (chiefly central) 1900s– anyhin, 1900s– oanyhin, 1900s– onyhin, 1900s– onythan (Dundee). β. (As adverb) early Old English aengi dinga (transmission error), early Old English aengi þinga, Old English ænge ðing, Old English æniga þinga, Old English æniga ðinga, Old English ænige þinga, Old English ænige ðinga, Old English ænigra þinga. See also anyfink pron. and n., anythink pron. and n. Origin: Formed within English, by compounding. Etymons: any adj., thing n.¹ Etymology: < any adj. + thing n.¹ Compare aught pron. Compare also any pron. and n. and Old English ǣnig wiht anything, any creature, (as adverb) at all (compare wight n. 3a).Sometimes (especially in early use) written as two words, now usually only to indicate stress on the second element, as ‘any thing, but not any person’. (Word division in Old English and Middle English examples frequently reflects editorial choices of modern editors of texts, rather than the practice of the manuscripts.) In use as adverb in Old English typically as ǣnige þinga (see β. forms), apparently showing ǣnige , neuter instrumental of ǣnig any pron. and n. + þinga , (partitive) genitive plural of þing thing n.¹ Compare also (rare) ǣnigra þinga , with genitive plural ending on both elements. However, already in Old English uninflected ǣnig þing is occasionally attested in adverbial use (compare quot. OE² at sense B. a). A. pron. and n. I. As a pronoun. 1. Often with complement. a. Chiefly in negative, interrogative, or conditional contexts: a (material or immaterial) thing of whatever type; even the least thing; (also) some unspecified thing, something. ΚΠ OE West Saxon Gospels: John (Corpus Cambr.) i. 46 Mæg ænig þing [L. aliquid] godes beon of Nazareth? OE Wulfstan Baptism (Hatton 113) (1957) 182 And æfre swa þæt cild raðost ænig ðing specan mæge, tæce man him sona ealra þinga ærest pater noster & credan. ?a1200 (?OE) Peri Didaxeon (1896) 13 Ȝif ani þing innan þa eaȝen byfulþ, þanne sceal man nime mede oððer wyfes meolc and do innan þa eaȝen. ?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 53 Weðer ani þing harmi mare. a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) i. l. 2419 Whan thou hast taken eny thing Of loves yifte..Wherof thin herte was the bettre [etc.]. ?c1450 (?a1400) J. Wyclif Eng. Wks. (1880) 388 More sikirnes..may no man make of eny-þinge. c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 136^v I haue not errit in anythyng. 1563 in W. Fraser Sutherland Bk. (1892) II. 6 Being lothe..to do any thing herin to the mislyking of the Queene. 1611 Bible (King James) John xiv. 14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it. View more context for this quotation 1627 J. Smith Sea Gram. ii. 12 Lockers to put any thing in, as in little Cupberts. 1702 in C. B. Gunn Bk. Linton Church (1912) 84 Mary Brown never saw anything betwixt them. 1781 J. Wesley Let. 31 Mar. (1931) VII. 53 I am in doubt whether anything will much avail Sister Harrison till she takes the quicksilver. 1837 W. B. Adams Eng. Pleasure Carriages 158 Few carriage builders care to introduce anything new. 1857 H. T. Buckle Hist. Civilisation Eng. I. xii. 670 If the contest..had been conducted with anything approaching to moderation. 1904 R. T. Ely & G. R. Wicker Elem. Princ. Econ. 81 A good or utility is anything which can satisfy a human want. 1962 Daily Tel. 17 July 17/6 If anything should go wrong with the lunar space-craft..unmanned supply vehicles would be sent. 2008 R. Drake Dead Place xvii. 185 I'm not accusing you of anything. You're the only one doing the accusing. b. In affirmative contexts, frequently with emphatic force: a member of a (specified) class without restriction or limitation; (also) every member of a specified class (cf. any adj. 1c). ΚΠ a1504 J. Holt Lac Puerorum (1511) sig. C6^v A Pronowne is a parte of speche. the whyche is sett for a propre name of a man or any thyng else. 1533 T. More 2nd Pt. Confut. Tyndals Answere iv. p. xxvi And yf he meane so, yet sayth he then as false as any thyng can be false. 1604 J. Godskall Arke of Noah sig. I Some in the Countrey doo spend their time in exercises, by which they may maintaine their health, and strengthen their bodies, that they may bee able to doo any thing. 1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 1. ¶8 I would gratifie my Reader in any thing that is reasonable. a1855 M. R. Mitford in A. G. L'Estrange Life M. R. Mitford (1870) I. v. 114 Anything in the remotest degree connected with Napoleon excites my curiosity. 1915 Reno (Nevada) Evening Gaz. 25 Aug. 4/1 Anything will grow in this state and will produce a profit, too, for the grower. 1964 C. Chaplin My Autobiogr. xviii. 317 I'd do anything—get a job—do extra work in films. 2011 Independent 22 Apr. 27/1 Our patience is sorely tested by anything that doesn't grab us instantly. c. Used to express the breadth of possibility or the limits of variation. Frequently in anything from —— to ——: any item, style, quantity, etc., within the described scope. Cf. anywhere adv. 3. ΚΠ 1831 New Eng. Farmer 7 Dec. 168/3 With anything—from a shaving box to a ship,..the Yankee always wishes to ‘go ahead’. 1889 Pall Mall Gaz. 19 Oct. 6/1 His figures..run to anything between a fiver and two or three hundred oners. 1928 L. North Parasites 14 It appeared that you could buy anything from a home to a Hula-skirt on time-payment. 1970 House & Garden May 140/3 The province of Lazio grows the famous white Frascati, a wine that can be anything from quite dry to very sweet. 2000 Newsweek 1 Jan. 89/2 A microchip..that can hold 25 nanoliters of anything from painkillers to antibiotics. 2. Any part, share, or quantity of a thing; (also) any aspect, evidence, or quality of a thing or person. Cf. nothing pron. and n. 2a, something n. 2a. ΚΠ OE Will of Ælfhelm (Sawyer 1487) in D. Whitelock Anglo-Saxon Wills (1930) 34 Gif hwa æfre ænig þinc of þysum cwyde awende oþþe ætbrede, sy him Godes ar..æfre ætbroden. 1416 in C. L. Kingsford Rep. MSS Ld. de l'Isle & Dudley (1925) I. 205 I will that, if anything of them [sc. manors] be tailled, [they] passe after the tenur of the taille to the next heir. 1532 R. Bowyer in J. Strype Eccl. Memorials (1721) I. xvii. 135 He intendeth not to infringe, annul, derogate, defray or minish anything of the popes authority. 1645 J. Lightfoot Comm. Acts vi. 104 That hee should..deny the puritie of the Greeke text, before hee will ungive any thing of his owne groundlesse opinion. 1677 A. Yarranton England's Improvem. 136 These Spouts convey the Corn into the Barges without anything of labour. 1725 J. Collier Several Disc. 316 The blessed Spirits..are too good to have anything of State or Exceptiousness in them. 1764 T. Harmer Observ. Passages Script. i. 2 I do not know that this has been done with anything of copiousness and particularity. 1793 J. Smeaton Narr. Edystone Lighthouse (ed. 2) §100 When there is any thing of a ground swell. 1800 E. Hervey Mourtray Family II. 56 Pho! pho! there is no fear of their knowing any thing of the matter. 1872 G. W. Dasent Three to One III. 241 Have either of you seen anything of Mr. Fortescue in town? 1914 T. S. Eliot Let. 5 Oct. (1988) I. 60 If you hear anything of German universities being open for neutrals in the spring, I hope you will let me know. 1935 H. R. Patch Trad. Boethius 121 Writers..borrowed from the scheme of Boethius without catching anything of his spirit. 1999 J. Burchill Married Alive ii. 33 Liza, you haven't seen anything of Nicola these past few weeks, have you? II. As a noun. 3. An unspecified thing, a thing of any kind; (frequently with possessive adjective) a thing, of whatever kind. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > kind or sort > generality > [noun] > state of being non-specific > unspecified thing(s) > anything whateOE aughtOE anywhata1400 what-not1540 anything1607 the world > relative properties > kind or sort > generality > [noun] > state of being non-specific > unspecified thing(s) > anything > a thing of any kind lastc1480 anything1607 any old thing1895 1607 T. Dekker & G. Wilkins Iests to make you Merie 24 So will hee vpon any occasion of reuengement shift himselfe into seuerall suites of Apparell, into a mans dish, his drinke his nosegay, his any thing. a1616 W. Shakespeare Taming of Shrew (1623) iii. iii. 104 I will be master of what is mine owne... She is my house..My horse, my oxe, my asse, my any thing . View more context for this quotation 1691 R. Baxter End of Doctrinal Controv. 50 Before Things are Any-things a purposing and fore-seeing Agent may make Names and Notions for them. 1736 Bp. J. Butler Analogy of Relig. Diss. i. 303 In a strict and philosophical Manner of Speech,..no Being, no Mode of Being, no Any-thing, can be the same with That, with which it hath indeed Nothing the same. 1768 A. Tucker Light of Nature Pursued I. i. 256 A new play, a new pattern of flowered silk, or a new anything. 1835 A. M. Hall Outlaw I. xii. 267 What can a heretic promise by that he holds holy? He has no Virgin, no saints, no anything! 1899 H. A. Jones Masqueraders 108 I am your slave, your dog, your anything! 1921 Boys' World Nov. 32/4 Being a good engineer, or a good anything, means that you must be a well-rounded man. 1981 J. Clavell Noble House 573 If you ever again use my name, my chop, my anything without my approval you're a dead man. 1991 ‘John-Roger’ & P. McWilliams Life 101 iv. 227 And be grateful that, although you can't have everything, there are some very nice anythings awaiting your selection. B. adv. a. In any way; to any extent; at all. Cf. anything like at Phrases 2, anything near at Phrases 5. Somewhat archaic in later use.Chiefly in negative or conditional contexts. Now only in statements involving comparison. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > kind or sort > generality > [adverb] > in any way or respect anythingeOE aughteOE anywisea1225 anywaysc1225 anywaya1400 aughtways1878 the world > relative properties > quantity > degree or relative amount of a quality, action, etc. > [adverb] > in any degree or at all anythingeOE aughteOE oughtsOE anywisea1225 anyc1300 anywaya1400 at all1476 ever1548 anywhat1576 anyways1673 earthly1833 aughtways1878 eOE Épinal Gloss. (1974) 45 Quoquomodo, aengi þinga. OE Beowulf (2008) 791 Nolde eorla hleo ænige þinga þone cwealmcuman cwicne forlætan. OE Ælfric Old Eng. Hexateuch: Num. (Laud) xxii. 34 Gif þe min færeld ænig þing mislicað, ic fare eft ongean. c1300 St. Edmund Rich (Laud) l. 179 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 436 Ȝwan he stoupede ani-þing, is flechs was so for-gnawe Þat [etc.]. c1400 ( G. Chaucer Treat. Astrolabe (Cambr. Dd.3.53) (1872) ii. §38. 47 Til that the schadwe..passe ony-thyng owt of the cercle. 1480 Cronicles Eng. (Caxton) ccxv. sig. n6^v Yf my lady your wyfe come any thyng nye yo. 1551 R. Robinson in tr. T. More Vtopia Epist. sig. ✠v^v Mine old good wil..is not..any thinge at all quayled. 1590 R. Harvey Plaine Percevall 16 A Minister that hath any thing a fat benefice. 1653 H. Phillippes Purchasers Pattern 17 If he be anything young. 1787 Brit. Mercury 17 Dec. 385 It was not any thing equal to the sea scene in Don Juan. 1861 T. P. Thompson Audi Alteram Partem III. clxx. 196 Not furious anything, either for good or evil. 1904 County & Munic. Rec. 24 May 124/3 There is no other place in this country where the evil is anything so marked as in the above loch. 2005 A. J. Bruney Microsoft Office Web Components Black Bk. v. 194 The final data need not look anything similar to the original raw data. b. Followed by the and a comparative. Now usually in to be anything the worse (for something); chiefly in negative or conditional contexts. Cf. nothing adv. 1c. ΚΠ a1535 T. More Hist. Richard III in Wks. (1557) 40/2 Of which..none of vs hath any thing the lesse nede, for the late made attonemente. 1568 H. Billingsley tr. P. M. Vermigli Most Learned Comm. Epist. Romanes i. f. 13^v Neyther was that kingdome any thing the better for Plato. 1681 R. Alleine Instr. Heart-work 228 Are you any thing the more in fear of sin? 1759 C. Wheatly Rational Illustr. Bk. Common Prayer (ed. 8) xii. 434 Not that the Dead are any thing the better for the honours which we perform to their corps. 1811 S. Taggart View Evid. of Christianity viii. 278 A man is nothing better if he happens to embrace the truth, nor any thing the worse for a mistake. 1891 O. Wilde in Fortn. Rev. 1 Feb. 293 Each member of the society will share in the general prosperity,..and if a frost comes no one will..be anything the worse. 1909 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 30 Jan. 260/1 Not one of the men..was anything the worse for the instantaneous decompression. 1990 Jrnl. Interdisciplinary Hist. 20 676 Was anybody or anything the worse off for such progress? Phrases P1. anything else: any other thing; anything in addition or as an alternative. Cf. nothing else at nothing pron., n., adv., and int. Phrases 1b. ΚΠ OE Glosses to Memoriale of Benedict of Aniane in A. S. Napier Enlarged Rule of Chrodegang (1916) 126 Quando prior benedicit cibum uel potum, uel aliquid quicquam, non sedendo sed stando benedicat : þonne se ealdor bletsað mete oððe drencg oððe ænig þing elles na sittende ac standende he bletsie. c1460 Tree & 12 Frutes (McClean) (1960) 7 (MED) Ȝif þou yn-wardly considere þees þinges, þou shalt raþer list wepe þan do any þing ellis. 1574 J. Whitgift Def. Aunswere to Admon. Tract viii. v. §13 Here is neither scripture, doctor, story, council, or anything else. 1678 N. Wanley Wonders Little World iii. xliv. §28. 227/2 Muskets..to shoot Bullets without Powder, or anything else but..Air compressed in the bore of it. 1743 M. Catesby Nat. Hist. Carolina II. p. iii Rice Land [in Carolina] is..only productive of that grain, it being too wet for anything else. 1861 Amer. Agriculturist July 213/1 In the four million families where washing is being done this morning, the number who use anything else than the old wash-board, is..small. 1952 V. Canning House of Seven Flies iii. 53 Charlie had ventured too far in search of black market vino, prosciutto and anything else he could lay his hands on. 1986 L. A. Lemaître Between Flight & Longing ii. 65 Asking nonchalantly for the issue containing her story, she was told,..‘That's sold out! Would you like anything else?’ 2011 Independent 29 Mar. (Viewspaper section) 4/5 Here is the true face of Cameronism. Big business matters more than anything else. P2. anything like: (with noun) in any way like; in any way similar (†to); (in other constructions) in any way approaching; by any means. Cf. something like at something adv. 3.Frequently in negative contexts (cf. nothing like at nothing pron., n., adv., and int. Phrases 5a). ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > degree or relative amount of a quality, action, etc. > degree or relative amount [phrase] > in any degree or at all anything like1529 with least or most1575 with least or most1575 for any sake1824 1529 T. More Dyaloge Dyuers Maters i. xviii. f. xxiii/1 The lawes of Cryste..bee not in hardnes & dyffyculte of kepyng any thyng lyke to the lawes of Moyses. 1625 J. Layfield in S. Purchas Pilgrimes IV. vi. iii. 1172 Their Pines are in shape like a Pine-apple,..but neither in feeling or taste are they any thing like. 1647 J. Fletcher & P. Massinger Little French Lawyer ii. i. 59 Can you pretend an excuse now may absolve you, Or any thing like honest, to bring you off? 1664 H. More Modest Enq. Myst. Iniquity ii. xxi. 436 I demand concerning these, and what-ever else looks any thing like either an Antichristian Imposition or Imposture, [etc.]. 1786 T. Mortimer tr. J. Necker Treat. Admin Finances France (ed. 2) II. i. 28 We must now estimate the savings on the charges; they would not be any thing like so considerable as it is generally imagined. 1793 J. Bentham Wks. (1843) x. 239 The £600 a-year..I do not look upon as anything like adequate. 1805 M. Lewis Jrnl. 6 Aug. in Jrnls. Lewis & Clark Exped. (1988) V. 54 The N. W. or rapid fork..dose not at all seasons of the year supply any thing like as much water as the other. 1860 Punch 8 Dec. 223/1 Labourers on their estates are..perhaps not anything like so well fed as the Stevensone fox hounds. 1875 J. O'Rourke Hist. Great Irish Famine vii. 196 To have met the Potato Famine with anything like complete success, would have been a Herculean task for any government. 1914 Black Cat Oct. 28/1 Do I look anything like a burglar? Being a policeman you ought to know the breed. 1957 New Scientist 12 Sept. 42/3 Scientists do not go in, in anything like sufficient numbers, for civic or political work. 2009 Guardian Unlimited (Nexis) 16 Sept. The new and recent evidence..cannot be mitigated anything like so easily. P3. (as) — as anything. a. Very, extremely, or extraordinarily —; (as) — as can be. colloquial in later use. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > greatly or very much [phrase] > extremely like mada1375 with a mischief1538 (as) — as anything1542 with a vengeance1568 with a siserary1607 (to be pleased) to a feathera1616 in (the) extremea1616 with the vengeance1693 to a degree1740 like hell1776 like the devil1791 like winky1830 like billy-o1885 (like) seven shades of ——1919 like a bandit1943 on wheels1943 1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus Apophthegmes f. 29^v Thesame maiden..daunced without any feare at all emong sweardes and kniues, beeyng as sharp as any thyng. 1676 T. Hobbes tr. Homer Iliads ii. 32 [He] thought To take Troy now as sure as any thing. 1698 T. D'Urfey Campaigners Pref. 11 To call 'em Colliers would be as significant as any thing. 1736 H. Walpole Lett. (1861) I. 8 A disconsolate wood-pigeon in our grove..is so allicholly as any thing. 1740 S. Richardson Pamela II. 58 I fear your Girl will grow as proud as any thing. 1841 T. C. Haliburton Clockmaker New Ser. viii. 71 She keeps a-sayin'—Well, he's a witch!..now I never! do tell!—as pleased all the time as anything. 1909 A. A. Milne in Punch 16 June 420/1 I feel as fit as anything this morning. I'm absolutely safe for a century. 1965 F. Raphael Darling xviii. 83 The soft toys were cuddlesome as anything. 2009 Star (Sheffield) (Nexis) 20 Nov. He was daft as anything and soft as a brush. b. As — as any comparable thing; as — as any alternative. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > discovery > comparison > in comparison with [phrase] in (the) (also to the) reward of1340 (as) to or unto the regard of or toa1400 at (the) regard ofa1400 in regard ofa1400 in regard toa1400 in respect ofc1400 in respect to1526 (as) — as anything1548 come1925 1548 N. Udall et al. tr. Erasmus Paraphr. Newe Test. I. Luke i. f. xvii^v As the fruitfulnesse of matrimonie was reputed for a certayne thyng of great Royaltie: so was barainnesse in as muche reproche as any thing. 1678 H. More Let. 25 May 5 in J. Glanvill Saducismus Triumphatus (1681) It was, and sometimes yet is, as much discoursed of in the North-Countrey, as any thing. 1793 W. Roberts Looker-on No. 52. 414 What has given me as much trouble as any thing, has been the multitude of little improvements in the most diminutive articles of ordinary use. 1867 Macmillan's Mag. June 114/1 I consider Mayduke cherries as fine as anything. 1928 Daily Express 11 Aug. 4/2 On Dartmoor streams..I found a small alder and a black gnat as effective as anything. 2011 Sc. Sun (Nexis) 23 June 62 Putting is a mental thing and a change is as good as anything because I can't putt any worse. P4. anything much: a great amount; anything significant or of importance. Frequently in negative constructions. Cf. nothing much at nothing pron., n., adv., and int. Phrases 11. ΚΠ 1664 W. Drage Physical Nosonomy 67 Nor is any thing much to be attributed to the colour or consistence of an Humour. 1743 Daily Gaz. 17 Nov. Her Intrigues with these Courts can never produce any Thing much for her Service. 1859 Child's Compan. & Juvenile Instructor (Religious Tract Soc.) 39 Amy was too weary to notice anything much, or to care about it if she had. 1928 J. Galsworthy Swan Song ii. v, in Mod. Comedy (1929) 637 I expect he's too young to be conscious of anything much except being thoroughly uncomfy. 1958 A. Sillitoe Loneliness Long Distance Runner 21 When the dough ran out I didn't think about anything much, but just roamed the streets. 2008 P. Hensher Northern Clemency 7 She didn't say anything much. They've got two children, nine, and a fourteen-year-old girl, I think she said. P5. anything near: nearly, anywhere near; in any way.Often in negative contexts (cf. nothing near at nothing pron., n., adv., and int. Phrases 5b, near adv.² 3). ΚΠ 1665 R. Boyle Let. 23 Dec. in Corr. (2001) II. 607 Diurnalls are the only printed things that have any thing near as quick & generall a Vent as formerly. 1720 E. Calamy Discontented Complaints prov'd Unreasonable (ed. 2) 14 It must be own'd that we are not any Thing near so well acquainted with former Times as with our own. 1757 Biographia Britannica IV. 2235 I think no other reformed Church of Christendom any thing near comparable unto it. 1845 Amer. Railroad Jrnl. 5 June 411/3 We have not anything near enough surplus labour in the country, to accomplish this work in the time. 1879 T. M. Cooley Treat. Law Taxation xix. 409 The result will fail to come anything near a verification of the calculations. 1923 G. Collins Valley of Eyes Unseen i. 29 Neither blow was a true king hit, however, and neither Chink was anything near knocked out. 1982 G. Frost & Y. Frost Astral Trav. (1986) viii. 143 I've only got one other case that's anything near as good as this one. 2010 W. Powers Hamlet's Blackberry ii. v. 88 Not anything near as busy as today's cities but, by the standards of their time, busy indeed. P6. like anything: to a great or extraordinary degree; very much, fast, well, etc. Formerly also †like to anything. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > manner of action > vigour or energy > acting vigorously or energetically [phrase] > with great vigour or energy with (also in) mood and maineOE vigour13.. with or by (all one's) might and mainc1330 with (one's) forcec1380 like anything1665 hammer and tongs1708 like stour1787 (in) double tides1788 like blazes1818 like winking1827 with a will1827 like winky1830 like all possessed1833 in a big way1840 like (or worse than) sin1840 full swing1843 like a Trojan1846 like one o'clock1847 like sixty1848 like forty1852 like wildfire1857 like old boots1865 like blue murder1867 like steam1905 like stink1929 like one thing1938 like a demon1945 up a storm1953 1665 R. Monsey Scarronides 31 Up stairs they run unto the King, And here they fight like any thing. ?1670 Poor Robins Observ. upon Whitsun-holidays (single sheet) When merry catches they do sit and sing, And love each other like to anything. 1695 W. Congreve Love for Love v. i. 81 I have been looking up and down for you like any thing. 1769 S. Gunning Hermit I. xii. 155 I to be sure, Madam, was quite daunted, and blushed like any thing. 1778 F. Burney Evelina I. xxi. 157 All the people in the pit are without hats, dressed like any thing. 1864 Eton School Days ii. 21 That building on the right is Tuggery, where the Tug-Muttons live; you'll hate the Tugs like anything. 1871 ‘L. Carroll’ Through Looking-glass iv. 73 They wept like anything to see Such quantities of sand. 1938 J. Grenfell Let. 18 Dec. in Darling Ma (1989) 81 He and R. got on like anything. 2010 Metro (Scotl. ed.) (Nexis) 10 Nov. 54 We must put New Zealand under pressure when they've got the ball and fight like anything to get it back. P7. anything but. a. By no means; not at all. (a) Modifying a predicate. ΚΠ 1788 Gentleman's Mag. Jan. 59/1 Elgin is any thing but that most elegant and laboured Gothic building in all the North. 1850 W. Wordsworth Prelude x. 279 Grief call it not, 'twas anything but that. 1874 T. Hardy Far from Madding Crowd I. xxix. 320 His being higher in learning and birth than the ruck of soldiers is anything but a proof of his worth. 1904 Agitator (Wellsboro, Pa.) 13 July 4/5 The engine is anything but modern. 1954 J. Thompson Nothing Man v. 47 I told them..that you were anything but a nympho but also very far from frigid. 1998 I. de la Bere Last Deception Palliser Wentwood ix. 239 He was anything but disinterested. (b) Modifying an attributive adjective or adverb, or occasionally a noun. Usually with hyphens. ΚΠ 1831 London Lit. Gaz. 26 Mar. 204/2 The anything but Sigh-amese twins. 1897 Westm. Gaz. 1 Oct. 2/1 The anything-but-particular denominationalists. 1933 Times Lit. Suppl. 16 Feb. 106/2 Richard Roe, the posthumous anything-but-hero. 2000 Guardian 22 Apr. i. 16/1 We wallow in our subjecthood, unable to break free from an anything-but-United Kingdom. b. With anaphoric reference: quite the reverse of (the previously stated thing). ΚΠ 1944 S. E. H. Beach Amabel & Mary Verena i. 12 ‘It sounds as if you were not altogether a Christian young gentleman.’ ‘Anything but.’ 1960 News Chron. 27 July 4/2 The aspirin age needed its drugs largely because the fair sex tried so hard to look anything but. 1994 Washington Post (Nexis) 4 July d1 That sounds typically museumish, but the annual festivities that emerged were anything but. 2008 Independent 19 Mar. (Property section) 5/1 If the term itself..sounds comical, its effects are anything but. P8. or anything: or any other (similar) thing; or anything else. Used as a substitute for a longer or more specific description. Cf. or something at something n. 1f.Often acting simply as a conversational filler. ΚΠ 1813 J. Austen Pride & Prejudice III. ix. 166 I did not once put my foot out of doors... Not one party, or scheme, or any thing . View more context for this quotation 1874 T. Hardy Far from Madding Crowd I. iii. 36 How soft it is—being winter time, too—not chapped or rough, or anything! 1906 J. M. Synge Lett. to Molly (1971) 50 Dont imagine I'm huffed or anything, little heart, I'm only weary. 1969 G. Chapman et al. Monty Python's Flying Circus (1989) I. iii. 30 They're not even married or anything, they're not even divorced. 2005 L. Dean This Human Season (2006) xxx. 191 I'm not stupid or anything, I'm just more of a doer than a thinker. P9. colloquial. too —— for anything: extremely, excessively ——. Cf. too —— for words at word n. and int. Phrases 1d. Now rare. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > greatly or very much [phrase] > extremely or excessively out of (also over, without) measure1340 with a pestilence1594 too —— for anything?a1832 ?a1832 F. Trollope Notebks. in Domest. Manners Amer. (1949) App. A. 428 Too hot for anything. Too bad for anything. 1835 Finesse I. xiii. 213 Never saw such a flirtation in my life—I declare it is too bad for any thing. 1894 J. C. Harris in Los Angeles Times 23 Dec. 21/5 The young lady said I was too prissy for anything. 1925 G. K. Chesterton Tales of Long Bow viii. 281 ‘Really,’ she said, laughing, ‘you are too ridiculous for anything.’ P10. U.S. colloquial. he (she, etc.) didn't do anything else: (as a strong affirmation of a preceding question or statement) ‘that's exactly what he, she, etc., did’. Now rare. ΚΠ 1845 Adams Sentinel (Gettysburg, Pennsylvania) 17 Nov. 1/4 What did our hero do but court and marry her. ‘He didn't do anything else!’ and is now in possession of the whole fortune. 1859 J. R. Bartlett Dict. Americanisms (ed. 2) at Any thing else Loco Foco. Didn't Gen. Cass get mad at Hull's cowardice, and break his sword? Whig. He didn't do anything else. 1886 Anglers' Jrnl. 3 July 322/1 ‘By the Lord Harry, Jed, did you shoot the Colonel's horse?’ ‘I didn't do anything else.’ 1905 Dial. Notes 3 2 ‘He didn't do anything else’, meaning he did just that. P11. anything goes: see go v. 17b(a). if anything: see if conj. 5. if anything should happen and variants: see happen v. 1b(a). This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2016; most recently modified version published online December 2021). < pron.n.adv.eOE
随便看	elegance elegances elegancies elegancy elegant elegant arts elegant mint elegant scholar elegant variation elegant-looking elegant-mannered elegant-minded elegant-sounding elegante elegantes elegantish elegantize elegantlooking elegantly elegantmannered elegantminded elegantsounding elegiac elegiac couplet elegiac distich