Pole is in good time or just about (6)
I believe the answer is:
nearly
'just about' is the definition.
('nearly' can be a synonym of 'just about')
'pole is in good time' is the wordplay.
'pole' becomes 'n' (**).
'is in good time' becomes 'early' (being early is arriving in good time).
'n'+'early'='NEARLY'
'or' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for nearly that I've seen before include "Give out a bright light" , "Almost, well-nigh" , "parsimoniously" , "pretty much" , "Noon at eleven fifty nine am" .)