ToBE #18 : Allways and anyways

Allways: There are two ways of looking at it:

• All ways (with a space): All directions, all paths.
  Eg.:- All ways from here lead to the exit.
• Always (one word, no space): At all times.
  Eg.:- Always insist on a written statement.

In either case, "Allways" is incorrect.

Anyways: This is an Americanism in circulation for a decade or more. In formal English, 'anyways' does not exist. It is always anyway. Anyway, you get the point.

Apprise/Appraise: All of us went through our appraisals and we were appraised. By now, you would have assumed that 'appraise' means to 'assess the performance'.

I was surprised when a newspaper reported that Manmohan Singh 'appraised' Sonia Gandhi. It was a misprint. What is meant here is 'apprised' (without the 'a' before 'i'). 'Apprise' means to 'update; inform'.