just anyone

English grammar questions, answered by Alan

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Lone
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just anyone

Post by Lone »

Dear Alan,

Nina wouldn't give her phone number to just anyone.

I've checked several dictionaries (Oxford, Longman, Cambridge, Macmillan) for the word 'just' in the above example. It looks like it is an adjective, modifying the pronoun 'anyone'. However, the meanings provided do not fit the above situation. Finally, I found that 'just anyone' is an idiom in Merriam-Webster dictionary.

As Merriam-Webster is an American dictionary, so is 'just anyone' an idiom in American English only (I can't find the entry in the 4 dictionaries I mentioned)?

Thanks!
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Alan
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Re: just anyone

Post by Alan »

This use of 'just' (meaning 'merely') exists in all varieties of English, and is an adverb which modifies the initial, adjectival component (any) of the indefinite pronoun that follows it.

In earlier forms of English, 'anyone, anything' etc. were written as separate words.
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