just now

[Mark_Mandel at DRAGONSYS.COM]

I'm used to "just now" as very recent past *or* present-to-immediate-future, but
the latter preferably with a kind of negative polarity:

     Q: Could you check this paragraph over for me?
     A1: Not just now, I'm in the middle of something.
     A2: Soon; I'm working on a rush job just now.

This "just now" almost requires *some* kind of denial or exclusion to justify
it. Not quite, though. I think I could write to a friend, "Just now I'm trying
to figure out how to pay for a new roof."

Hmm. The harder I think about it, the fuzzier it gets. Like SAEng "just now"
'after a few beers'.

-- Mark