MM_Dandy wrote:I've heard and used it more to mean "not quite" and less as "approximately." Never as "barely" or "only just."
This is more or less what it means to me. "I just about lost it!" means I was about to explode in anger, but I managed to keep control and not do it.
One of the answers contrasts things that mean the same thing to me.
Enzo wrote:Almost for me.
I just about died. I just about killed myself.
Also can mean more-or-less
It is just about a mile to the store.
I would contrast it with "didn't quite".
She didn't quite pass, meaning she came close but still failed.
To me, "I just about died" means I almost died, but I didn't. (Obviously, someone who did die wouldn't be talking about it, unless it is perhaps a work of fiction with a dead narrator.) The meaning of "didn't quite" is similar to me - "I just about passed" means I came close, but I didn't pass (an exam, another car on the motorway, whatever), and so does "I didn't quite pass". Maybe a small difference in emphasis.