to ever be eliminated

[Maybo]

I'm watching a TV show called "Drag Den". The host said "You are all too amazing to ever be eliminated." Does "ever" mean forever?

 

[BobK]

'Forever' always refers to the future - 'now and always'. But 'ever' can refer to the future or the past, depending on context:

Past: No man has ever been so evel.
Future: No man so evil will ever exist.

(I suppose this could be characterized as "'Ever' means the same as 'forever' in negative sentences that refer to the future", but as a native speaker I don't feel as though they can be said to mean the same; and 'forever' can be used in positive sentences like 'You will forever be in my thoughts'. (Archaic texts can use 'ever' like this, (We should ever be mindful. of..' means 'We must always bear in mind...') but in modern usage it only appears in the negative.)

 

[Maybo]

'Forever' always refers to the future - 'now and always'. But 'ever' can refer to the future or the past, depending on context:

Past: No man has ever been so evel.
Future: No man so evil will ever exist.

(I suppose this could be characterized as "'Ever' means the same as 'forever' in negative sentences that refer to the future", but as a native speaker I don't feel as though they can be said to mean the same; and 'forever' can be used in positive sentences like 'You will forever be in my thoughts'. (Archaic texts can use 'ever' like this, (We should ever be mindful. of..' means 'We must always bear in mind...') but in modern usage it only appears in the negative.)

So what does “ever” mean in this sentence? "You are all too amazing to ever be eliminated."

 

[BobK]

'You are all so good that you will never be eliminated'. As I said, you could take this as meaning the same as *'You are all so good that you will forever not be eliminated', but although it's intelligible it isn't normal; 'Forever' refers to something positive: '...you will forever remain on the show' would work (but I doubt if it would be true )