Definition

Noun: 1. A great or disappointing distance or difference: A significant and often negative disparity between two things, situations, or expectations. 2. A long distance: A considerable physical distance, originally estimated by how far a human cry could be heard.

Usage

• This phrase is almost exclusively used in the idiomatic structure "to be a far cry from...".
• It compares two things, emphasizing how vastly different or distant they are from each other.
• The comparison usually implies that the current reality is worse, less advanced, or less desirable than the point of comparison.

Examples

• Noun (Disparity):

  • The final product was a far cry from the original design.
  • Living in this small apartment is a far cry from the mansion she grew up in.
  • His peaceful retirement is a far cry from his hectic life as a CEO.

• Noun (Distance):

  • The remote village is a far cry from the nearest city. (This usage is less common in modern English).

Advanced Usage

• The phrase can be used to express a positive contrast, though this is less frequent. It highlights a significant improvement.
  • The new, safe playground is a far cry from the dangerous vacant lot that was here before.

Variants and Related Words

• Cry (noun): A loud shout or call. (This is the root word from which the idiom derives its sense of distance).
• Far (adverb/adjective): At, to, or by a great distance.

Synonyms

• World apart: Extremely different.
• Miles away: Very different or distant.
• Poles apart: Completely opposite.
• Nothing like: Not similar at all.

Related Idioms

• A far cry from is itself the primary and almost only idiomatic construction for this term. It functions as a fixed phrase.

Noun

1. a disappointing disparity
   • it was a far cry from what he had expected
2. distance estimated in terms of the audibility of a cry
   • it's a far cry from here