What is a far cry, and what is its origin?
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A far cry is literally a distance that is quite far to try to call across; in other words, a great distance. The term is used to compare two (usually abstract) things that are vastly different from one another, as in:
The OED says a far cry is a very long distance and quotes Walter Scott's Tales of My Landlord (1819):
They contrast it with the older within cry, meaning within calling distance, and quote William Lithgow's Totall Discourse Trav. (1632):
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