とにかく (tonikaku, "anyway").

Wondering about the etymology of this. Wiktionary says it derives from とにかくに, which it seems we can read as とに、かくに to ni, kaku ni, roughly "that way or this" / "one way or another". Reminiscent of Eng "but that's neither here nor there". Anyway...

The JLPT approaches!

The JLPT is on the 4th! I'm scrambling; one never knows quite what to study, and experience tells me that uncertainty on even one element in an item can lose you the point. I've ordered a book of N3 test questions that promises to arrive Tuesday, and I'm trying to find 完全マスター; in the meantime, I'm reviewing kanji flashcards and a site that claims to know which kanji to focus on. (I'd link to Kanzen, but weirdly I can't find the edition I have.) I'm consistently at the head of the diamond league in Duolingo, but I don't think that really is preparing me for anything but ordering battleship sushi. I'll need #2 pencils and an analog watch. It's like the ascending part of a rollercoaster.