Years ago, if you had told your grandparents one day we will be talking on phones with no wires connected and be able to see each other! They might tell you it was impossible to believe and maybe think you were a dreamer.
Today we have futurists tell us that we will be living on distant planets, we will be driving flying cars and even teleporting from one place to another. Hello Scotty beam, me up!
This phrase all came from the early age of exploration around the time places like Canada and the Americas were being discovered. Explorers would bring back unbelievable animals, plants, tobacco, spices that had never been seen in Europe.
All of these items became known and referred to as far-fetched goods. Some of these artifacts and goods would have strange stories around them and far-fetched tales would be told and to make them even more interesting the story teller would exaggerate the story to make even unbelievable and far-fetched.
Meaning of Far Fetched:
This phrase we use to express something that is improbable, implausible and difficult to believe.
- It all seemed a bit far-fetched that she could just close her eyes and be able to travel anywhere in the world. I think she is a bit crazy!
- The police thought the husband’s story about his wife’s disappearance was not convincing and a bit far-fetched.
Dialog:
Leila: Hey Justin, I was wondering if you have heard anything about Hyperloop?
Justin: Hyper what?
Leila: It is this new form of transportation some futurists are talking about, it is a bit out there, but interesting. They believe they can get to speeds of 1200 km per hour!
Justin: Sounds a bit far-fetched to me.
Leila: Yeah, I can understand that, but I think it is possible to go even faster and travel from New York to London in less than 2 hours!
Justin: I think you are a bit far-fetched and maybe a little “hyperloopy “.
Leila: Ha-ha. I think we have to be far-fetched to be innovative.
Other words you can create: noun, verb, adjective, adverb, etc. (ex: mug – mugger)
comparative more far-fetched
superlative most far-fetched
Collocations:
It seems all a bit far-fetched.
The whole story sounds a bit far-fetched.
Related Phrasal Verbs:
Far off- when we use this phrase in the context of far-fetched, we are saying it is something way into the future and not plausible, yet.
- His ideas are far-fetched and far off from becoming anything tangible.
Beyond belief- this is a phrase we use to describe something someone says or believes as not believable.
- It is inconceivable and beyond belief that we can teleport, the whole idea is just farfetched.
Far out- this is phrase we use to say something is unconventional.
- The ideas he has are not only far out, but I would say far-fetched for now.
Related idioms:
Fly-by-night- in the context of far-fetched, this would suggest an idea or person with the idea is not reliable or trusted.
- I would not trust what he says, his idea is fly-by-night and very far-fetched.
Hundred-to-one- we use this phrase to describe a situation and/or the chances of something occurring to be a low chance.
- His winning the lottery is a hundred-to-one chance and his method of winning is a bit far-fetched.
Out of the question- this to say that something is impractical and unlikely.
- His ideas are far-fetched and many are just out of the question right now.
Won’t hold water- when something doesn’t hold water it is because the idea is not strong or logical and impractical.
- His decision won’t hold water with the courtsand will probably be consider too far-fetched for anyone to believe.
Fat chance- when this phrase is used we are saying that something has a very unlikely chance of succeeding.
- I don’t think the teacher will believe his far-fetched excuse and there is a fat chance that she will let him take the test again.
Cock and Bull- when we use this phrase, we are saying that something is ridiculous and an implausible story.
- I think his story was little far-fetched and probably cock and bull excuse.
Hard-to-swallow- hard to believe and accept.
- All of this is a bit hard-to-swallow and so far-fetched that I would have to say, no.
Synonyms (other ways to say):
- not likely
- difficult to believe
- outlandish
- impractical
