plus

plus

is used primarily as the oral equivalent of the arithmetical sign + (Three plus four is seven). In the 20c it went from strength to strength as a quasi-preposition with the meaning ‘with the addition of, and also’ (e.g.

• A cup of Epp's cocoa and a shakedown for the night plus the use of a rug and overcoat doubled into a pillow —James Joyce, 1922).

A more controversial use from the 1960s (first in America) makes plus a conjunction or adverb (with a comma following) meaning ‘and furthermore, and in addition’: (conjunction)

• You can fly an aeroplane…and command a ship. Plus you ride horses —New Yorker, 1987

• ‘It's certainly a challenge. Plus it's a little overwhelming, but it's exciting,’ says Nicole —Daily Mail, 1998

• (adverb) I'll quit romanticizing him. Plus, he never got to go on any road trips —B. Ripley, 1987

• It's a bad movie but at times it's the kind of bad movie worth watching…. Plus, there's an omnipresent horizontal flurry of ash in nearly every outdoor scene. Not snow, ash. At least it looks like ash —film reviews, AmE 2005 [OEC].

These uses occur frequently in advertisements (e.g. 20% off everything —plus no deposit) but should not be adopted in more formal writing.