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What does the slang moving right along mean?

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I'm not sure it's slang, more of a figure of speech. Nobody is moving, but the metaphor is that the conversation is standing still and should quickly advance to the next topic. – Mr. Shiny and New 安宇 Oct 1 '10 at 13:09

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It means "enough of that topic, let's go to the next topic since we are under time constraints"...

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It can be shortened to "Anyhoo..." – Doug Oct 1 '10 at 13:48
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Additionally, this phrase can be used sarcastically when the speaker is eager to leave a particularly awkward topic of conversation. – Chris Dwyer Oct 1 '10 at 15:25
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It also means "making good progress," in reference to a lengthy project, like constructing a building, writing a book, planning a wedding, etc.

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I'd use moving along for that purpose. Moving right along is a phase I associate with upper- or middle-class English comedies. It is used when whatever is happening is embarrassing and the speaker wants to talk about something else. – TRiG Dec 7 '10 at 22:05
Interesting. Being English, I'd always assumed moving right along to be American. – TimLymington Jul 16 '11 at 21:09
@TimLymington - I agree, I think that the English version is "moving swiftly along" - it's used in exactly the same context though. – tinyd Aug 31 '11 at 22:06
up vote 0 down vote

If you were to say "moving along" it would mean making progress along some course of action. For example, "My painting is moving along," means that the painting I am working on is getting closer to completion.

If you change that to "moving right along" it means that you are making progress without any setbacks or interruptions. As Geoffrey Pullum describes it, you can use right as an adverb when there is a proper, perfect way to execute a verb. You can move right along, but you can't wander right around.

The way correctness links to the special preposition-modifying use of right, then, is that there can be an absolutely right way to instantiate a spatial or temporal relation (or metaphorical analog thereof). Right lays emphasis on the instantiation being exactly the right one for the job.

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