Funny how simple English phrases can meaning totally different things to different people. Take the phrase just now. The definition is "a short time ago".
Example: I had lunch just now and bumped into an old classmate.
Seems straightforward enough. But when my family lived in Japan, my father had Japanese colleagues and I remember he related a hilarious incident concerning the phrase just now. He had asked someone if a task had been completed, and the man replied, "Yes, just now!"
Great, thought my dad. He went to inspect the work but found the task not done. "I thought you said it was done," he said to the man.
"Yes, just now!" came the reply and the man proceeded to start the task. My father was bewildered for a moment, and then realised that the other man had used just now to mean, "starting in a short time." I always laugh at this memory. It reminds me that English isn't straightforward and its shades of meanings can trip up even the best of us.
