Question on the word following.

Its mean the cards will be delivered on Wednesday afternoon.

I would understand this as thursday afternoon
To indicate wednesday afternoon, I might expect simply "that afternoon" d

Really?

This was a question on an English proficiency test (TOEIC) over in South Korea and there's much heated debate about when the cards arrive.

Having heard arguments from both Wednesday and Thursday enthusiasts I'm pretty sure it could go both ways based on the ambiguity of the phrase "the following afternoon".

What would you say?

But even if there were a slight touch of ambiguity if we get straight down to the mechanics of the phrase "the following afternoon" preceded by the mentioning of how the cards will be printed the morning of Wednesday wouldn't Wednesday afternoon be correct considering that it is the afternoon that comes immediately after the printing of the cards?

"following" usually means following in terms of days
d

meteorquake"following" usually means following in terms of days

I agree. 'That afternoon' would refer to the the afternoon of the same day. As afternoons inevitably follow mornings in the course of a day, we wouldn't normally use the word 'following' when we are talking of the afternoon of the same day.

However, there is a slight possibility of confu

Its means I am absolutely correct.....Yahooooooooo

Didn't you put Wednesday though

Oh Oh Oh Oh......

KarachiGuyIts means I am absolutely correct.....Yahooooooooo

No, you are not. There is a possibility that the message meant Wednesday, but two native speakers have told you that they would understand the meaning to be Wednesday.