A to Z blogging: J is for Just

Just is a handy word to have around... I have had a lot of fun lately with it for sure! According to thefreeditionary.com just has two uses in the English language.  It can be an adjective or an adverb.  Here are the meanings for the adverb, which is how I use it all the time. (I modified the sample sentences to reflect my life today...)

adv. (jst, jst; jst when stressed)

1. Precisely; exactly: That project turned out just right.

2. Only a moment ago: I just finished painting that wall so don't touch it!

3. By a narrow margin; barely: You just about took out the neighbor's fence getting out of the driveway.

4. At a little distance: You missed a spot just below the knob.

5. Merely; only: It is just a little crooked.

6. Simply; certainly: The redbud trees are just beautiful!

7. Perhaps; possibly: I just may have to change that up a bit.

Ornery and I have had a great time with a phrase CW trotted out while he was here.  It started with an email someone forwarded to me about various tools and their uses.  It is hilarious, (I have reprinted it below without the photos) but one definition is for a belt sander.  CW mentioned how appropriate that one is, and that every time he thinks "I'll just nick that with the belt sander," he ends up having to do a full fledged restoration project.

Now when anything needs a bit of rough knocked off, Ornery or I say, "Just nick it with the belt sander," and we both giggle. :)

And here, for your giggling pleasure, is the email sent to me.  I wish I knew the origin of this, but you know how it is with emails, anyone from anywhere could have written it so just be aware that it is not my own prose.  

TOOLS EXPLAINED

Common sense explanations most handymen will verify:

• DRILL PRESS:   A tall upright machine useful for suddenly snatching flat metal bar stock out of your hands so that it smacks you in the chest and flings your drink across the room, denting the freshly-painted project which you had carefully set in the corner where nothing could get to it.
• WIRE WHEEL:  Cleans paint off bolts and then throws them somewhere under the workbench with the speed of light. Also removes fingerprints and hard-earned calluses from fingers in about the time it takes you to say, 'Oh crap.'
• SKIL SAW:  A portable cutting tool used to make studs too short. 
• PLIERS:  Used to round off bolt heads. Sometimes used in the creation of blood-blisters
• BELT SANDER:  An electric sanding tool commonly used to convert minor touch-up jobs into major refinishing jobs.
• HACKSAW:  One of a family of cutting tools built on the Ouija board principle... It transforms human energy into a crooked, unpredictable motion, and the more you attempt to influence its course, the more dismal your future becomes.
• VISE-GRIPS:  Generally used after pliers to completely round off bolt heads. If nothing else is available, they can also be used to transfer intense welding heat to the palm of your hand.
• OXYACETYLENE TORCH:   Used almost entirely for lighting various flammable objects in your shop on fire. Also handy for igniting the grease inside the wheel hub out of which you want to remove a bearing brace. Its best use is for igniting new seat covers.
• TABLE SAW:  A large stationary power tool commonly used to launch wood projectiles for testing wall integrity.
• HYDRAULIC FLOOR JACK:  Used for lowering an automobile to the ground after you have installed your new brake shoes, trapping the jack handle firmly under the bumper.
• BAND SAW:  A large stationary power saw primarily used by most shops to cut good aluminum sheet into smaller pieces that more easily fit into the trash can after you cut on the inside of the line instead of the outside edge.
• TWO-TON ENGINE HOIST:  A tool for testing the maximum tensile strength of everything you forgot to disconnect.
• PHILLIPS SCREWDRIVER:  Normally used to stab the vacuum seals under lids or for opening old-style paper-and-tin oil cans and splashing oil on your shirt; but can also be used, as the name implies, to strip out Phillips screw heads.
• STRAIGHT SCREWDRIVER:  A tool for opening paint cans. Sometimes used to convert common slotted screws into non-removable screws and butchering your palms.
• PRY BAR:  A tool used to crumple the metal surrounding that clip or bracket you needed to remove in order to replace a 50 cent part. 
• HOSE CUTTER:  A tool used to make hoses too short.
• HAMMER: Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent to the object we are trying to hit.
• UTILITY KNIFE: Used to open and slice through the contents of cardboard cartons delivered to your front door; works particularly well on contents such as seats, vinyl records, liquids in plastic bottles, collector magazines, refund checks, and rubber or plastic parts. It is especially useful for slicing work clothes, but only while in use.
• Son of a biscuit TOOL:  Any handy tool that you grab and throw across the garage while yelling 'Son of a biscuit' at the top of your lungs. It is also, most often, the next tool that you will need, and at times must be retrieved from across the room.