Colin the MathmoJan 14, 2023

OK, language weirdness question.

Someone recently said:

"I just about caught the train."

Did they catch it or not? Perhaps it depends whether you think of English as (one of) your first language(s).

As always, if you're happy to do so I'd be grateful if you'd boost for reach, and to get beyond my circle of followers.

Thank you!

They caught the train (EN)
24.9%
They missed the train (EN)
46.7%
They caught the train (other)
20.5%
They missed the train (other))
7.9%
Poll ended at .
Show threadrobinhoustonJan 14, 2023
@ColinTheMathmo Is this a “divided by a common language” thing? It seems unambiguous to me that they caught the train, but apparently I'm in a minority of English-speakers with that interpretation. Wondering if there's a UK/US divide.
Show threadAaron WilliamsonJan 14, 2023
@robinhouston @ColinTheMathmo “just about” has always meant “nearly” in my US English speaking world
Show threadrobinhoustonJan 14, 2023
@copiesofcopies I speak British English, so that's consistent with my hypothesis!
Show threadRo ClavertonJan 14, 2023
@robinhouston @copiesofcopies Brit English here. They definitely caught the train. I was surprised to see the poll numbers so high for missing it among English speakers.
Show threadSomersetWhovian 🇺🇦💙Jan 14, 2023
@roclaverton @robinhouston @copiesofcopies
Another UK English speaker here. It's a bit of an odd usage, but I'd definitely assume they caught the train.
Show threadPatrick Johanneson 🚀 🇨🇦Jan 14, 2023
@ClaireCopperman @roclaverton @robinhouston @copiesofcopies Over here (🇨🇦) I'd be inclined to assume they narrowly missed the train. "Just about" has the same connotation, to me, as "almost but not quite".
Show threadJohnny CacheJan 14, 2023
@pjohanneson @ClaireCopperman @roclaverton @robinhouston @copiesofcopies
Another Canadian here. I agree that this person would be saying that they nearly caught the train, but not quite. "I just (barely) caught the train" would be the option to indicate success (ie. with only a sliver of time remaining).
Show threadBenna 🏳️‍⚧️
@ClaireCopperman @pjohanneson @mondegreen @robinhouston @copiesofcopies @roclaverton so it seems to be a North American English thing
Jan 14, 2023 at 11:28pmWeb