"However" as a conjunction [closed]

However you look at it, it’s still a mess.

This is a common-enough expression.

Here, "however" is a relative adverb in a fused relative construction. The meaning is:

Any way that you choose to look at it, it's still a mess.


This is standard British English usage. In fact the first meaning given in the Oxford English Dictionary for the word "however" is qualifying a verb, "in whatever manner or by whatever means". The usage examples given date from as early as the 14th century.