Informal Writing

noun a noun is a person, place, thing, or idea; 'way' is a noun in 'by the way' referring to a method or manner of doing something

adverb an adverb modifies or describes a verb, adjective, or another adverb; in this case, 'by the way' is used as an adverb to introduce a new topic or add additional information in a conversation

preposition a preposition shows the relationship between a noun (or pronoun) and other words in a sentence; 'by' is a preposition in 'by the way' indicating the manner or method of something

• By the way, I wanted to remind you about the upcoming meeting scheduled for next Monday.
• Oh, by the way, did you hear about the new restaurant that just opened up downtown?
• By the way, have you seen the latest episode of that show everyone's talking about?
• By the way, the way you handled that situation was really impressive.

noun a small or insignificant amount of something

• The document was filled with chicken scratch, making it difficult to read.
• I can't understand your chicken scratch handwriting, please write more clearly.
• His notes are just chicken scratch, I can barely make out what he wrote.
• Her signature was nothing but chicken scratch, indicating her lack of commitment.

adverb to a great extent or degree

• I appreciate your help muchly in completing this project on time.
• Thanks so muchly for inviting me to the party!
• I love you muchly, you're the best!
• His kindness towards others is muchly admired by everyone.

adjective confused or bewildered; in a state of mental fuzziness

• The complex instructions left the new employees feeling confuzzled.
• I'm so confuzzled by all these different rules and regulations.
• I was totally confuzzled by her explanation of the latest slang terms.
• His mind was confuzzled with thoughts of what could have been.