From here on out?

Reader question:

Please explain “from here on out” in this sentence: He’s told to cut back on alcohol from here on out.

My comments:

This man (he) got drunk and made a fool of himself probably. Either that or too much alcohol has caused his health to deteriorate.

Hence, he’s told by someone, perhaps a doctor, to, from now on, drink less and mind his health more.

Something like that.

“From here on out” means from now on, starting from here, this place and point, going forward.

“From here on out” is a variation of the more commonplace phrase “from here on” or “from now on”. “Here” refers to this place whereas “now” refers to the present time. “Here and now”, which is actually a phrase, means exactly what it says, here – and now – as a starting point.

In other words, he’s told to cut back on alcohol right here and now, without delay.

“Out” suggests this advice is permanent, lasting forever – till time runs “out”, if you will.

In other words, no return back to binge drinking, ever.

To sum up, in short, “from here on out” is the same as “from here on” or “from now on” but perhaps is more emphatic-sounding.

Let’s read the following media examples to see for yourself whether “from here on out” does sound more emphatic:

1. Postseason expectations are slipping away with each loss for the Cincinnati Bengals.

Heading into Sunday with a 3-5 record, Joe Burrow knows his squad can’t afford anymore losses.

Thus, be it only Week 9 or not, Burrow has deemed the Bengals’ matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders the must-win variety.

“This is a must-win game,” Burrow told reporters Wednesday. “We’re 3-5. You go to 3-6, then you gotta basically win out to get in. Urgency’s very high every week from here on out.”

Having stumbled out to a 0-3 start to the season, the Bengals briefly found their stride with three victories in four games – all against losing teams. However, Cincinnati’s first four losses were all by six points or less. Now, the Bengals must rebound from a 37-17 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

A team predicted by many to claim the AFC North and some to make the Super Bowl, the Bengals are entrenched in the reality of their status. And there's no time to think about woulda, coulda, shoulda at this point.

“This is the situation that we find ourselves in,” Burrow said. “We know what we have to do going forward, and we’re going to attack that challenge to the best of our ability. And try to give ourselves the best chance to win with my play and try to continue to be as consistent as I can and try to find a win.”

- Joe Burrow tabs Bengals’ game vs. Raiders ‘must-win’: ‘Urgency’s very high every week from here on out’, October 30, 2024.

2. The Penguin’s Colin Farrell took home a Golden Globe for “Best Male Actor in a Limited Series,” after continuing his role as Oz Cobb/The Penguin from The Batman. During his acceptance speech, the star opened with a joke: “No one to thank on this when I did it all by myself – just a raw, pared-away performance.” Immediately after his quip, Farrell added that he had “too many people to thank” and that “it takes a village, whether it’s on the small screen or the big screen.”

Among those the actor shouted out were showrunner Lauren LeFranc, costar Cristin Milioti, and The Batman director, Matt Reeves, quipping that the latter would “kill [him] if [he doesn’t] thank him.” Farrell was quick to credit everyone else who worked on The Batman and The Penguin for his success: “I’m here on the backs of the talents of so many people through the years.”

More specifically, Farrell also thanked the hair and makeup team responsible for his transformation into the Penguin, led by Mike Marino. Per the star, “all it took was three hours in the chair in the morning. I drank black coffee, listened to ’80s music and I became a canvas for that team’s brilliance.” In an especially kind move, Farrell noted that the production was also supported by departments like craft services, which provided food and refreshments for the cast and crew, saying they “kept the whole crew going.”

While Farrell made a careful note to thank many who contributed to his role as the Penguin, he drew special attention to his appreciation of Matt Reeves. Given that he originated his time as Oz in Reeves’ The Batman and that Reeves executive produced The Penguin, this extra emphasis makes sense. Reeves is in large part responsible for casting Farrell, though the actor still deserves credit for the gravitas he brought to the Penguin character. Interestingly, Farrell thanking Reeves also reminds audiences that there will be more of Oz to come in The Batman Part II.

During his speech, the actor also joked: “I guess it’s prosthetics from here on out.” While this comment was cheeky in nature, it indicates a clear interest in continuing his tenure as the Penguin.

- Colin Farrell Thanks The Batman Director After Golden Globes Win And Addresses His Role As The Penguin, ScreenRant.com, January 6, 2025.

3. Late-night hosts took aim at the ineffective tactics of the Democrats while also taking issue with Donald Trump’s response to the weekend’s deadly storms.

On The Daily Show, Jon Stewart said that “it is Trump’s world and we’re just cowering in it” in a segment devoted to calling out how poorly the Democrats have handled his second presidency.

Over the weekend, Trump played golf once again, which led to a picture of him walking into an office “in his golf attire to bomb the shit out of Yemen”. In attacking the country he “continued a presidential tradition going back decades”.

With the recent vote over the new Republican budget to avoid a shutdown, Democrats finally had “an opportunity to stand up” to a “wannabe tyrant”.

The budget was criticized by some as a non-starter yet Chuck Schumer broke ranks and voted to move it forward. “What the fuck happened?” he asked.

…

On Jimmy Kimmel Live! the host said that on St Patrick’s Day it was “nice to have an excuse to drink on a Monday” given how bad things currently are.

There was “a terrible weekend of deadly storms” yet the president who chided Joe Biden for being away when Hurricane Helene raged decided to play golf once again. “If you scored hypocrisy like golf he’d be 30 strokes under par right now,” he said.

Trump claimed victory again but Kimmel asked: “Who are the other players in this tournament?”

He joked that it could just be “Eric with his Fisher Price clubs” and demanded “a forensic investigation” into the game.

Later that day, Trump finally posted that he would be praying with Melania for those affected. “Praying together might be the only activity those two do less than sleeping together,” Kimmel joked.

This weekend also saw Trump get accidentally prodded by a fuzzy microphone during an interview. “How funny would it be if that happened every time he was interviewed from here on out?” he joked.

- Jon Stewart on Democrats: ‘It’s Trump’s world and we’re just cowering in it’, TheGuardian.com, March 18, 2025.

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About the author:

Zhang Xin is Trainer at chinadaily.com.cn. He has been with China Daily since 1988, when he graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University. Write him at: zhangxin@chinadaily.com.cn, or raise a question for potential use in a future column.

（作者：张欣）