Make Your Editor Cry: Anybody vs. Any Body
When it means “anyone,” anybody is spelled as a single word.
Example:
I know I’m twelve but the sign says anybody can enter the raffle.
They’ll just let anybody work in here I guess.
But when it means a noun phrase referring to “an arbitrary body,” any body is spelled as two words.
The grave robbers were not looking for just any body; they wanted the corpse of a famous person.
When planning a fishing trip, not just any body of water will do.
Gregg Bridgeman is the Editor-in-Chief at Olivia Kimbrell Press. He is husband to best-selling Christian author Hallee Bridgeman and parent to three. He continues to proudly serve in the US Armed Forces and has done so in either an active or reserve capacity for more than twenty years as an airborne and air assault qualified paratrooper, earning a Bronze Star for his service. Most importantly, he was ordained in October of 2001 after surrendering his life to Christ decades earlier.
