I grew up with the phrase ‘just about’ meaning ‘almost but not quite’.
Thus, a phrase like “she was running a marathon and just about made it across the line” means that she failed to finish the race, but got very close.
In my adulthood, I’ve primarily heard ‘just about’ meaning ‘only just’ or ‘by the skin of my teeth’.
Thus, a phrase like “she was running a marathon and just about made it across the line” means that she succeeded in finishing the race, but only barely.
Hence the poll.
For meaning no. two, I would say “She just barely crossed the finish line” not “just about”.
I have never in my life heard anyone use “just about” to mean “only just” or “by the skin of one’s teeth.” It always and only has been used to mean “almost but not quite.”
This.
Thirded.
I’d understand it to mean she crawled across the finish line, but barely capable of any further physical effort - finished, but only just.
“Just about” means “almost” or “not quite”.
I’d say it means the same as “more or less,” “give or take a bit,” “approximately.”
I’ve just about finished this task = I’m somewhere around the end point, I might have finished or there might be a little bit left to do, I’ll need to check to be sure.
This plot is just about 20 acres = it might be a little more or a little less.
To my ears “She was running a marathon and just about made it across the line” sound incomplete.
“She was running a marathon and just about made it across the line before she collapsed from exhaustion” sound better.
Context is everything. Without any, “just about” means “almost but not quite” to me.
However, it could also mean “barely did it” to me, **if **the context is provided. “She just about did it without dropping dead; I thought she was going to collapse but she made it.”
But I’d just about always vote for “didn’t quite do it.”
ETA: I voted for the first option, “She came close to finishing, but barely fell short” despite my comment about context.
In that specific context, I’d probably interpret that as ‘she finished, but was practically crawling by the end’. She didn’t quite run a marathon.
To me that would be:
“She only just finished the race.”
Not, “She just *about *finished the race.”
I agree with most. In the quoted context it means almost but not quite.
But what about the construction, “This is just about the dumbest … I have ever …” Surely it is intended to convey that the thing is, in fact, the dumbest question, idea, whatever.
The literal meaning is that it is not the dumbest X ever. It may function as an intensifier IMO because it implies that instead of coming to a snap judgement and proclaiming its utter stupidity, the speaker has delved a little bit into the depths of former stupidity and can’t immediately think of anything stupider, although they concede there is a strong possibility of doing so provided more time.
The first definition that popped into my head when I saw the thread title, but not the poll choices was"approximately". As in: “The theme park is just about five miles from our motel.”
“Just about” means “almost, not quite”. “Only just” means “almost didn’t, but did.”
Another vote for “almost, but not quite.”
To convey the idea “got across the finish line, with nothing to spare” I’d probably use “just barely finished” - which would be the same as “just about didn’t finish.”
Crap, I voted the wrong option. I meant to vote #1, but accidentally clicked #2, so move one vote over to the other column. To me, there is a difference between “just” on its own and “just about.”
I just about finished the race -> Meaning #1
I just finished the race -> Meaning #2 (Or alternative temporal meaning of “just” as in very recently completed.)
I find the example ungrammatical. “she was running a marathon and just about made it across the line” describes the moment just before she crossed the line. The sentence has to go on. Something like:
“she was running a marathon and just about made it across the line when the aliens arrived”
Completely agree. The tricky part is that, if you leave out the word “about,” it means the second thing (that she did finish).
Context is everything.
>“How long does it take to drive to the Airport?”
>>“Just about 45 minutes.”
To me, that means it will take more than 30 minutes, but less than an hour. I would not take it to mean it would take less than 45 minutes.
In the context of the OP, for me it would mean she didn’t quite finish. If she had finished, I would have expected the speaker to state that explicitly and not be ambiguous.