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   Yukari☑️ (yukari@mstdn.ca)'s status on Sunday, 15-Jan-2023 08:19:58 JST Yukari☑️

   • 📚 natalie 📒

   @paparatti No, if you caught the train you'd say "I just about MISSED the train" - My husband (American from LA) and me (Japanese) agree on this. English is interesting.

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     マリオ (Mario Menti) (mario@neko.cat)'s status on Sunday, 15-Jan-2023 08:19:57 JST マリオ (Mario Menti)

     in reply to

     • 📚 natalie 📒

     @paparatti @yukari yes, I think it's definitely a UK/US thing. In the UK it means without a shadow of a doubt that you caught the train

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     📚 natalie 📒 (paparatti@phire.place)'s status on Sunday, 15-Jan-2023 08:19:58 JST 📚 natalie 📒

     in reply to

     @yukari well, I'm English with a Westcountry dialect, and no one would think I missed the train if I said I "just about caught the train" (especially if you flip it into dialogue, eg: "did you catch the train?" "Just about!") One of the things about the English language is that it often contain implications that don't make logical sense, but add up to a larger picture. The "just about" to me, implies a narrow margin of success. And the opposite of "just about" is "nearly".