Reader question:
In this paragraph from the Economist (China: Responding to Disaster, May 12, 2008) – As Beijing prepares to host the summer Olympic Games in less than three months, officials were quick to report that the city's dozens of Olympic venues were built to withstand earthquakes and that none had suffered damage. Authorities also said that no damage was observed at the massive Three Gorges Dam, located on the Yangtze River, several hundred kilometres east of the epicentre. That is just as well. Holding back an enormous reservoir, the dam was built in the face of strong opposition from critics who gave warning, among other things, that it would be vulnerable to earthquake damage that might cause disastrous floods – What does "That is just as well" mean?
My comments:
First, my thoughts as well as yours are with the victims, survivors and rescue workers at this difficult time for folks in Sichuan.
...
Now, definitions. "That is just as well" is a piece of nitty-gritty English. Here, it means that's not bad at all or that's fortunate, considering the circumstances.
The root of the phrase is "as well", meaning the same in effect as the alternative. If you do one thing but you may as well do another, it means it makes no difference one way or the other.
"Just as well", with the emphasis on "just", may in fact imply to a preference. For example, if someone invites you and others to a dinner and you tell them that you don't know if you can make it, they might say: "You may just as well tell me you won't come." That means they'd prefer a definite answer because then they could focus on others instead of keeping worrying about you.
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