Learn English – Does “next to” mean “to the right” or “to the left”

meaningmeaning-in-context

According to Oxford Learner's Dictionary,

next to

  1. in or into a position right beside somebody/something

  2. following in order or importance after somebody/something

If:

A is next to B

it should mean that A is immediately beside B (as per the cited definition). I would normally assume that A comes after B or is to to B's right.

Context

I'm trying to the solve the "Einstein's Riddle" and two of the givens are:

  • The Norwegian lives in the first house.
  • The Norwegian lives next to the blue house.

If the Norwegian is the first house in a row of five houses, it can't possibly come after the blue house. In this case, knowing the correct position is most important. What should I assume? I'm arranging the houses horizontally from left to right. So, will the N house be leftmost? If so, will the blue house be to its right?

Question

Now the question is:

Is A to the right of B? Or to the left?

Definition #2 seems to suggest that A comes after B — that is, to the right (assuming things are ordered from left to right, as is generally).

However, if A and B are next to each other, A is to the right of B, and B is to the left of A. Either ways are possible then.

Which one is a correct interpretation of 'next to'?

Best Answer

The meaning of 'next to' has already been well answered here, but I would like to add in context:

This question introduced me to Einstein's "five houses" riddle which I worked on for an hour and solved 2 days back. Since houses are assumed to be arranged horizontally in the riddle, the Norwegian lives in the first house from left or right and the house 'next to' it is EITHER the house second from left or the (4th) house second from right. Selecting either end apparently does not affect the final question of the puzzle though the exact solution may differ a little.

Note: As pointed out in an earlier answer here, the key with the regular usage of 'first' and 'next to' is not to assume that something is the 'first thing' from the left or that 'next to' means to the right (or left) of something else unless it is specifically mentioned. Otherwise we should proceed with an open mind.

Note 2: a very perceptive answer at ELL did point out the houses could even be arranged in a circle except that the clue 'first' house suggests a linear arrangement.

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