What it means
One of the great South African time traps for foreigners. It does not mean right now, and it does not mean a minute ago. It means sometime soon, maybe in ten minutes, maybe in two hours, maybe never, depends on the mood. Its faster cousin now now is more urgent, and plain now is the vaguest of all. If a local says they will call you just now, grab a snack.
Usage examples
"The plumber said he would be here just now, so obviously I have made coffee, started a series, and resigned myself to fixing the tap myself"
"I'll bring you the report just now, let me finish this email first."
"She said she'd be here just now, so could be ten minutes, could be an hour."
Where it comes from
A pillar of South African English time-telling, shaped by the Afrikaans nou-nou. Just now means soon-ish, not immediately, sitting between the more urgent now now and the vaguest plain now. Foreigners learn the hard way that it can stretch from minutes to never.
Other ways to say it
Editors of this term
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