Re: I just about can't believe it
About is one of those words with a thousand different meanings.
Going about 70 MPH is the approximately sense. It could be under or over.
"I just about passed the test" would mean, to me, they almost passed the test. Without about, "I just passed the test" would be I did pass the test, but just barely. (Unless just meant very recently.) I would interpret the about as modifying 'just.' So I came close to barely passing the test [but did not].
I think this is maybe a specific US dialect or something, but people will also say things like, "I about lost my mind" to mean they came very close to something, but did not quite do it. I think that's the same usage.
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