Anything

pronoun: used in questions and negatives to mean “something”; any event, act, object or situation

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“Anything” can mean… well… anything. It’s practically all-encompassing. That being the case, I find it strange how blasé we seem to be when using the word. While I’m sure the Dodger really would do anything for Nancy’s smile, most people – real or imagined – draw the line somewhere. Why, then, do we bandy about the word “anything” like it’s meaningless when it can mean anything at all?

“Is there anything I can do to help?” is a common question, isn’t it? And a dangerous one. While no commitment has been made as yet, the door to an infinite number of requests is now open, many of which would generally be considered unreasonable. “Well, a lift to the airport would be nice… It’s only 200 miles away…” Or “If you could take care of that mortgage payment for me, that’d be a big help…” Of course, most people have enough common sense to refrain from making such demanding requests, but why risk it? Why do we offer more than we’re prepared to give?

Another common turn of phrase is “I can’t think of anything worse”, and it’s seldom accurate (unless the individual using it is utterly lacking imagination). Let me put this into context: the last time I heard someone say that, they were discussing attending a party with a group of people that they find dull. Yes, that does sound awful, but “I can’t think of anything worse”? Really? How many people get stabbed every day in this country? Would such a fate befalling someone you know (and find more interesting than those aforementioned party-goers) not be fractionally worse than an evening of boredom? While exaggeration can be a delightful means of expressing strength of feeling or emphasising a point, when a word is overused it loses its meaning. In 1999, Neo promised to show us a world where anything is possible. I shouldn’t have to type in italic to convey that message. Please, let’s not lose our language to laziness.

Now, I’ve a question for you: how many times have you answered a question with “anything will do” or “anything’s fine”? I can’t count the number of times I have, and I can count pretty high, so that’s a lot. But, on reflection, answering a question so flippantly is like saying “I have no intention of even considering this”: it’s barely a step up from ignoring the person! Of course, that’s never been my intention, and I’m sure it isn’t yours. It’s an attempt to be considerate, albeit a misguided one, in my considered opinion. By avoiding expressing a preference, we leave the person asking the initial question free to do as they prefer, which seems a kind gesture. However, it denies their initial request of hearing your preference and reduces the entire conversation to a waste of breath, which strikes me as more lacking respect than showing consideration… Perhaps it’s better to stop speculating how other people’s minds operate…

For the record, my mind interprets “anything” as a beautiful, unique, paradoxical word that, while only having one meaning, has an infinite number of meanings: it can mean anything at all.

On that happy note, dear reader, say what you want, how you want; paint with flowery, poetic language or convey your message with the bluntness of a hammer. Say it your way, rather than just saying anything – or worse – nothing at all. And, whatever you do, don’t think too much!

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