Suppose I say "We're moving the 12 PM meeting forward 2 hours", does that mean the meeting is at 10 AM or 2 PM?
asked Jun 21, 2020 at 0:25
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6updoot this comment if you think its 10 AM– Frank SchwietermanCommented Jun 21, 2020 at 0:25
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2updoot this comment if you think its 2 PM– Frank SchwietermanCommented Jun 21, 2020 at 0:25
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4In this context, forward means it happens sooner. Upvote this comment if you know I'm right.– RobustoCommented Jun 21, 2020 at 0:41
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6I upvoted @Robusto’s comment. Upvote this if you think I did the right thing.– JimCommented Jun 21, 2020 at 0:50
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8Upvote this comment if you think asking for people to vote for comments is not in the spirit of the Stack Exchange question and answer format.– nnnnnnCommented Jun 21, 2020 at 1:30
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2 Answers
If you move a meeting forward, you are scheduling it earlier. See Collins.
There is, however, a lot of confusion about terms like up, back, forward, and out when they are used in this context. As Merriam-Webster suggests, the best way to handle them is probably not to use them at all, and substitute less ambiguous words like earlier and later in their place.
answered Jun 21, 2020 at 0:57
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The collins link refers to "bring forward" which is more generally accepted to mean earlier in time than "move forward" is Commented Oct 19, 2020 at 14:20
Technically "you bring forward" or "you move back". It's not good English to say move forward in this context. You can move forward in a line up or a queue but not when talking about time....
