I don't know if Patrick Powers is right about astronomers differing from (sextant age) navigators regarding the sign of the equation of time but for navigators EoT has always been mean time minus apparent time. My British Admiralty Manual of Navigation, Volume 2, 1938 states simply: The equation of time is defined as the excess of mean time over apparent time. So there!
And as Evelyn Waugh said to his commanding officer who rebuked him for drinking too much wine in the mess: I do not intend to change the habit of a lifetime for you! Frank -- Frank Evans
