h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

this is a question i've been pondering for a while. personally, given that it is monday, i mean the wednesday of next week, that is to say not the wednesday in two days, but the one after that. my mother on the other hand, would infact mean the former when refering ot the latter, but then she's from Nottingham. is it a regional thing? what do they say in other parts of the globe? who's right?

OK, I would say:

two days time= this wednesday
nine days time= next wednesday
sixteen days time= a week next wednesday

cunnign plan

I'm with Egon.

'Next' wednesay is in a week's time.

From SE England.

should mention, if it affects my view in any way, that I am in Sunderland (NE England), but was born in Worcester (English midlands) and grew up in Warrington (NW England) and, in case background might affect it, my parents were from Liverpool (NW England) and Kent (SE England).

Just for the purposes of the "does it differ in different places" business...

This has cropped up before on h2g2, and there is definite variation on this issue - a *few* people people say it is the next Wednesday after today, some the Wednesday of next week, and some would take it to mean the Wednesday after next.

However, 'Wednesday' suffices for the former meaning, and 'Wednesday week' (or 'a week on Wednesday') for the latter, so the logical use for 'next Wednesday' is 'the Wednesday next week'.

That said, it does open up the issue of when the week starts - though I subscribe to the 'Wednesday of next week' definition, if someone talked on Monday about going to church 'next Sunday', I wouldn't be sure they meant in 13 days rather than 6.

ah well, if its ground already trodden, i suspected as much. is there any evidence of any particular area/class differences? from what we've seen so far it may just be an inherited thing and since most everyone is from somewhere else these days its probably impossible to tell.

Hi there EE, haven't seen you around for an age! Got any more Jaffa cakes?

Next Wednesday - just that; the very next Wednesday coming (2 days)
Wednesday week - the Wednesday after that one.

Why anyone would use next Wednesday to mean the Wednesday after the next one is beyond me.

Noggin

do you meet with any consternation on the issue? 2 days is this wednesday, the next logically follows. la
how did you know, when i posted the last entry i was infact finishing a packet of jaffa cakes. didn't take long of course, i dare say i might be able to use you as an excuse to open another one though