Meaning of "moving right along"

Question

What does the slang moving right along mean?

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 01 '10 at 13:09

score 14 · Accepted Answer · answered Oct 01 '10 at 12:18

14

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

answered Oct 01 '10 at 12:18

Epaga

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It can be shortened to "Anyhoo..." – Doug Oct 01 '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 Oct 01 '10 at 15:25

score 6 · Answer 2 · answered Oct 03 '10 at 14:59

6

It also means "making good progress," in reference to a lengthy project, like constructing a building, writing a book, planning a wedding, etc.

answered Oct 03 '10 at 14:59

moioci

4,678

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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 07 '10 at 22:05
Interesting. Being English, I'd always assumed moving right along to be American. – Tim Lymington 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

score 1 · Answer 3 · answered Nov 21 '12 at 01:18

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.

Meaning of "moving right along"

3 Answers3