What are your rules about next and last regarding days of the week.

We went to dinner this past evening with my brother in law and his SO, and the SO and my wife were talking about something that happened on Tuesday. Well, basically 9 days prior (the aforementioned dinner having been on a Thursday), my wife on returning home from work at about 20 to 9 didn’t have the outdoor light turned on for her (she only works nights Tuesdays and up until a couple weeks ago it was still light out when she’d get home, so I wasn’t yet in the habit of turning on the outside light for her, didn’t even occur to me), and someone got out of their car and approached her under the guise of asking for directions. That really freaked her out because first she wondered why didn’t the person just stay in his car, and second, she’d just that day discovered that someone had kicked in our garage door and stolen HER bike and nothing else, so she was already freaked out.

Anyway, she related a story about almost being in a traffic accident on Tuesday of this week, and I said, “tell him what happened to you LAST Tuesday,” meaning the guy getting out of his car to approach an unfamiliar woman at night. She was really confused and didn’t know what I meant, because to her, LAST Tuesday meant the Tuesday that just passed. She and my brother in law’s SO agreed that anything that has already happened is LAST, anything within the next 7 days is THIS (or no modifier, like just plain Tuesday), and anything after 7 days but less than 14 is NEXT. So, in other words, today is now early morning Friday, September 18, to their way of thinking, Tuesday, September 15 is LAST Tuesday, Tuesday, September 22 is Tuesday or THIS Tuesday, and Tuesday, September 29 is NEXT Tuesday.

Now, to my way of thinking, the most recent Tuesday is THIS Tuesday, Tuesday or THIS PAST Tuesday, 10 days ago is LAST Tuesday, and 4 days from now is NEXT Tuesday or This Coming Tuesday. In other words, Tuesday, September 8 is LAST Tuesday, Tuesday, September 15 is Tuesday, This Tuesday or This Past Tuesday, and Tuesday, September 22 in NEXT Tuesday.

Now I never really gave it much thought, I guess I never really realized there was a controversy. So, I’m curious, whose way is your way, my wife’s or mine? Don’t worry, just curious, not going to divorce her over it and use this thread in the custody battle if you say I’m right, and not going to argue with you if you way I’m wrong. Just curious which way you prefer, or if you have a third way?