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06/25/2007 08:40:15 PM · #1 |
Can someone tell me what this means?
The little house he is renting is sparse but comfortable enough with air conditioning in one room, a washing machine, frig and kitchen utensils. A far cry from staying at a hotel.
Does that mean its way worse than a hotel? or better? or just different? |
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06/25/2007 08:42:04 PM · #2 |
| A far cry better means that it is way way better. |
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06/25/2007 08:42:17 PM · #3 |
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06/25/2007 08:46:21 PM · #4 |
Usually, when one says "it's a far cry from" whatever, it means "it's nowhere near as good as"...
R.
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06/25/2007 08:47:14 PM · #5 |
hmmmm...
now im equally confused as to what it means! |
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06/25/2007 08:48:07 PM · #6 |
| Bear music just contradicted me, but I stand by what i originally said. |
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06/25/2007 08:49:19 PM · #7 |
| A far cry means much different from. Like Robert, I've usually seen this used to imply "much worse than" but I've also seen it reversed to imply "much better than." In the context of your quote, I'd say "much worse than." |
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06/25/2007 08:49:20 PM · #8 |
I'm with  BAMartin on this one.
If "A" is a far cry from "B", it's MUCH better.
I stand corrected
//idioms.thefreedictionary.com/far+cry+from
Message edited by author 2007-06-25 20:51:04.
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06/25/2007 08:49:37 PM · #9 |
And I agree with bmartuch. ;)
And now Kirbic, too. But I always agree with him.
Message edited by author 2007-06-25 20:50:07. |
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06/25/2007 08:52:26 PM · #10 |
Thanks for the replies.
I did learn that my english isnt that bad considering a debate began as to what it means :) |
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06/25/2007 08:52:31 PM · #11 |
| I agree when used in this context, it's meaning is to say the room is much better then a hotel.. Maybe not much bigger based on the description, but better none the less.. |
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06/25/2007 08:53:07 PM · #12 |
Originally posted by kirbic:
A far cry means much different from. Like Robert, I've usually seen this used to imply "much worse than" but I've also seen it reversed to imply "much better than." In the context of your quote, I'd say "much worse than." |
I got just the opposite meaning from his quote. The room was comfortable, had AC, a washer, a frig.... a far cry from staying in a hotel where he might not have had the washer etc.
Much better than a hotel. |
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06/25/2007 08:53:32 PM · #13 |
Googling tells me it means simply "very different from"; neither negative nor positive is "embedded" in the phrase. So it depends on context.
"I may think you're a jackass, but that's a far cry from SAYING you're a jackass..." would be an example of a neutral usage.
R.
ETA: this supports Kirbic's position, of course...
Message edited by author 2007-06-25 20:54:51.
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06/25/2007 09:01:05 PM · #14 |
| I've always heard, and used, it to mean that something is very different from something else. It can be superior, inferior, or just different. |
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06/25/2007 09:17:18 PM · #15 |
Originally posted by Bear_Music:
Googling tells me it means simply "very different from"; neither negative nor positive is "embedded" in the phrase. So it depends on context.
R.
ETA: this supports Kirbic's position, of course... |
This is absolutely correct. I have seen it used many times in both positive and negative context. |
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06/25/2007 09:26:34 PM · #16 |
Originally posted by karmat:
I've always heard, and used, it to mean that something is very different from something else. It can be superior, inferior, or just different. |
yep |
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06/25/2007 09:28:44 PM · #17 |
I would say that the key words in the original post are " comfortable enough", meaning that you could be comfortable, but probably not overly so. And no room service there either LOL.
It looks like everyone is a far cry from a solid decision on the meaning in this case.
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06/25/2007 09:39:34 PM · #18 |
| Far Cry - distance estimated in terms of the audibility of a cry; "it's a far cry from here" |
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06/25/2007 09:41:52 PM · #19 |
Originally posted by MelonMusketeer:
I would say that the key words in the original post are " comfortable enough", meaning that you could be comfortable, but probably not overly so. And no room service there either LOL.
It looks like everyone is a far cry from a solid decision on the meaning in this case. |
Ill call and ask them later what they meant (the writer is an english teacher).
But to analyze it for fun now, she also mentions that there is aircon in 1 room, meaning that the other ones dont. This lowers the tally for the room vs. hotel
Message edited by author 2007-06-25 21:43:52. |
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06/25/2007 09:49:03 PM · #20 |
| But the hotel probably only has ONE room. |
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06/25/2007 09:53:38 PM · #21 |
Yeah but the hotel has a laundry service, meals prepared, housekeeping, aircon in the whole suite whether one room or more. I read it as the hotel being better than.
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06/25/2007 10:04:42 PM · #22 |
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06/25/2007 10:05:34 PM · #23 |
Originally posted by loriprophoto:
Yeah but the hotel has a laundry service, meals prepared, housekeeping, aircon in the whole suite whether one room or more. I read it as the hotel being better than. |
fwiw
Not over there hotels wouldnt have meals (maybe continental breakfast) and laundry service probly not
Message edited by author 2007-06-25 22:07:20. |
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06/25/2007 10:07:45 PM · #24 |
"The little room was cramped and hot, but it was a far cry from his hovel in Macedonia" - implies better
"The little room was comfortable and light, but a far cry from the mansion in which he grew up" - implies worse.
Either is legit. The sentence as written is confusing, though, because the usual construction sets the two examples as contrasts; the example you use doesn't, or at least doesn't clearly. I take it to mean better, because the first part, "The little house he is renting is sparse but comfortable enough..." is listing positive attributes, and they're likely meant to be contrasted with the attributes of the hotel. If it said "The little house was squalid and damp, a far cry from a hotel" I would take it to mean much much worse. |
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06/25/2007 10:12:04 PM · #25 |
| House is better than hotel. No doubt. |
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