Pretty much

I take it as a [relative] comparison rather than a quantitative statement.

Have you been going out much? (reply) I pretty much stay home these days. (compared to how much I go out)

Do you do your shopping at the supermarket? (reply) Pretty much. (compared to other alternatives)
This is not a statement about how often or how mu

HUBLOTWhat does Pretty much mean? Is it an informal way of saying "often"?

Almost. In this sentence it's more like "fairly often", "most of the time".

Sometimes, though, it means "approximately" or "almost".

As far as the expression "pretty much" goes, that's pretty much it.

<< STEPHEN CASTILLO: "Pretty much I go to, like, the library, I guess, or go to a friend's house." >>

Your URL reference doesn't state what question Stephen is answering.
We have to assume it's something like, "Since you don't have a computer at home, how do you do your online assignments?"

If he replies, "I g

Thank you, Avangi and CalifJim. Is it common to say "pretty much" to mean "fairly often" or "most of the time"?

HUBLOTThank you, Avangi and CalifJim. Is it common to say "pretty much" to mean "fairly often" or "most of the time"?

Not really, in my opinion, though that is a possible paraphrase in some contexts. It seems to me that it's more commonly used to mean "just about", "approximately", "almost", or "almost the same as".

When the curtains caught fire,

HUBLOTIs it common to say "pretty much" to mean "fairly often" or "most of the time"?

Hmmm, does "or" here mean "and", or does it mean "or"?

When the curtains caught fire, it pretty much ruined the party.

AvangiIn CJ's example of the burning drapes, I read it as a proportion: "How much of the drape was burned?"Half of it? Most of it? A large percentage of it? Even, "A lot of it!" These are all in comparison to the whole.

Really? I intended something very different.

Not "How much of t

My bad.

I usually keep a second window open so I can refer to the rest of a thread. (You now get only one bite of the apple, unless you're replying to the OP.)

I was working from memory, which fails often of late.

Ah, OK. No biggie.

So then you agree with my interpretation of the sentence with the burning curtains, I assume?

CJ

CalifJimSo then you agree with my interpretation of the sentence with the burning curtains, I assume?

Yes, I do. Unlike the OP, it deals with scenarios in which frequency is not an issue.

My only problem was with the earlier exchange:
<< But the students also need access to the Internet when they are