what's the meaning of "just about"?

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moonlike

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Hi
This sentence was about a bench "the bench was just about wide enough". Does it mean almost?
Thanks a lot in advance
 

5jj

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No. It was wide enough, but it was almost not wide enough.
 
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Raymott

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Hi
This sentence was about a bench "the bench was just about wide enough". Does it mean almost?
Thanks a lot in advance
In AusE, it means almost.
If someone is just about tall enough to reach something, he can't reach it.
If someone is just tall enough, he can reach it (just).
 

moonlike

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In AusE, it means almost.
If someone is just about tall enough to reach something, he can't reach it.
If someone is just tall enough, he can reach it (just).

Thanks dear Raymott
 

Raymott

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Thanks dear Raymott
Hi moonlike,
It's really not necessary to make a new post to thank people (at least me). It just makes an empty new post that a few dozen people click on to read. Clicking 'like' is sufficient.
 
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emsr2d2

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In AusE, it means almost.
If someone is just about tall enough to reach something, he can't reach it.
If someone is just tall enough, he can reach it (just).

Wow, that sounds really odd to me! I can't imagine "just about" being a negative. So "He is just about tall enough to reach it" means the same as "He is not quite tall enough to reach it"?
Do you use "He was only just tall enough to reach it"? to mean barely tall enough, but tall enough?
 

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Wow, that sounds really odd to me! I can't imagine "just about" being a negative. So "He is just about tall enough to reach it" means the same as "He is not quite tall enough to reach it"?
Do you use "He was only just tall enough to reach it"? to mean barely tall enough, but tall enough?

I would read it the same as Raymott. If something is just about wide enough, it is not wide enough.
 

Raymott

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Do you use "He was only just tall enough to reach it"? to mean barely tall enough, but tall enough?
Yes

Also, if I say, "That English assignment just about killed me", it didn't kill me, but almost did.
I find it weird that you British would use it to mean the opposite.
 
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BobSmith

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Also, if I say, "That English assignment just about killed me", it didn't kill, me but almost did.

It was a near miss!
 

emsr2d2

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In three years on this site, this is the most surprising difference in use of English I have discovered.

I can entirely see how "it just about killed me" would be a negative but mainly because it's so unlikely that it actually would kill you and, if it had, you wouldn't be around to utter those words!

However, with "real" situations and descriptions, I can't think of a single instance in which it's a negative.

He's just about tall enough to reach the top of the cupboard = He can get his fingertips on top of the cupboard by stretching to his fullest possible extent.

I have just about enough rice to make a risotto = I need 300g of rice and I have 301g. Phew! I don't have to go shopping for rice. (We would also say, of course, "I have just enough rice ..." to mean the same thing.)
 

BobSmith

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I have just about enough rice to make a risotto = I need 300g of rice and I have 301g. Phew! I don't have to go shopping for rice. (We would also say, of course, "I have just enough rice ..." to mean the same thing.)

I hear this as you are happy with having just under the requisite amount :)
 

emsr2d2

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I hear this as you are happy with having just under the requisite amount :)

This will take some getting used to. I re-read my sentence and realised that I could probably have had 299g, 300g or 301g and still said "just about enough". However, if I only had 299g, I would probably say "Damn, I haven't got quite enough rice for the risotto recipe but it'll probably be enough".
 

Tdol

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I find it weird that you British would use it to mean the opposite.

For me, if something is just about wide enough, it could be almost wide enough or a struggle but manageable.
 

BobSmith

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Was thinking more about this.. it could mean "just over the amount needed" in this context:

I've had just about enough of you. (But even then, it still could mean "watch out, you're about to cross the line")

But, to my ears, there is a clear distinction here:

We have just enough people to get started, so now we can begin.

We have just about enough people to get started, so let's wait another minute, then we'll begin.
 

magimagicE

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Hi

This sentence was about a bench "the bench was just about wide enough". Does it mean almost?
Thanks a lot in advance

It means that the bench was wide enough, but that the speaker/author wanted to emphasize the narrowness of the margin by which it was.

It's a way of introducing a little uncertainty into an otherwise boring definite outcome of whether it was or it wasn't wide enough. The little uncertainties can sometimes be more interesting...

Phrases like "just about", "nearly" and "almost" also have this peculiar aspect of triggering a mental picture in your mind's eye.

OP, did you not imagine yourself holding one hand up to your face with thumb and forefinger about an inch apart as you read the segment, "the bench was just about wide enough"?
 

Raymott

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It means that the bench was wide enough, but that the speaker/author wanted to emphasize the narrowness of the margin by which it was.
Yes, but have you read the thread? It means that in BrE, but not in AusE or AmE (apparently).
 

Raymott

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I've had just about enough of you. (But even then, it still could mean "watch out, you're about to cross the line")
Yes, it's a warning, meaning "almost enough to make me strangle you". But apparently in BrE, you'd have to be strangling someone already to say this, because there it means you've already had enough.

PS: I also agree with ems that it's one of the most surprising differences I've come across here too. I would not have guessed it.
 
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