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 threadIoannis KonstantoulasJan 14, 2023
@ColinTheMathmo They caught the train for sure. Evidence: there's not a single swear word in there.
Show threadDavid ArchJan 15, 2023
@ykonstant @ColinTheMathmo This. And would one not use "missed the train" if one actually just missed it? Thus, my uneducated guess (non-native speaker) is that the verb "catch" outweighs any nuances regarding the "about". Thanks for the interesting topic!
Show threadBlockforestJan 15, 2023
@david @ykonstant @ColinTheMathmo I think that's the difference, I wouldn't say I just about caught it, unless I had caught it, because otherwise I would have missed it. I would say 'I missed the train', or 'I missed it by a whisker', or something similar, with additional swear words probably.
Show threadColin the MathmoJan 15, 2023

@blockforest One could say "I nearly caught it" which, despite the presence of "caught" means you actually missed it.

I read "I just about caught is" as equivalent to, but even more whisker-like, as "I nearly caught it".

@david @ykonstant

Show threadBlockforest
@ColinTheMathmo @david @ykonstant I don’t think I’d say that though - I would say ‘I just missed it’, or ‘I was so close to catching it’. I think it’s more thinking about it as the same as ‘I just caught it’ being I caught the train but it was a close call. Whereas ‘I just about caught it’ is even more whisker-like. Like a - I had to run until my lungs burned and jump through a closing door situation.
Jan 15, 2023 at 5:57pmMastodon for iOS
Show threadColin ParkerJan 15, 2023
@blockforest @ColinTheMathmo @david @ykonstant I understand “I just about caught the train” to mean that it wasn’t caught, but the difference with “just missed” or “missed by a whisker” is that in the latter cases you expected at some point you might catch it, whereas “just about” implies you never expected to catch it but came closer than you thought.