Kenneth G. Wilson (1923–). The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. 1993.
anyway, anyways (adv.)
Anyways is dialectal, primarily Southern and South Midland; it raises Standard users’ eyebrows nearly everywhere else in all speech and is unacceptable in Edited English. Use anyway instead, which American English spells as one word (I think I’ll stay home anyway) and stresses like other compounds. The two-word phrase (adjective modifying noun) is not a compound: You can use this gadget [in] any way you like. See COMPOUNDS.
