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Glite Dictionary
fare-thee-well

fare-thee-well

9.9
A very high level of quality that is almost perfect
  • noun
  • Archaic
translation icon : perfección
  • Her performance was rehearsed to a fare-thee-well, flawless in every detail.

Examples

  • The chef prepared the meal to a fare-thee-well, leaving nothing to chance.

  • He cleaned the house to a fare-thee-well before the guests arrived.

  • Polished to a fare-thee-well.

  • Finished to a fare-thee-well!

  • Her performance was rehearsed to a fare-thee-well, flawless in every detail.

  • He cleaned the house to a fare-thee-well before the guests arrived.

  • The chef prepared the meal to a fare-thee-well, leaving nothing to chance.

Antonyms

failure
557 1.3

Not reaching what was planned or expected

imperfection
51 3.7

A small fault that makes someone or something less good

mediocrity
31 6.5

A state of being average and not special

Surface Forms

fare-thee-well singular
fare-thee-wells plural

Morphology

fare-thee-well = fare + thee (opaque) = well + fare + thee

Though transparently composed of 'fare' + 'thee' + 'well', the idiomatic meaning 'to the utmost degree' is not derivable from the literal components. [Postprocessing: moved 'well' from base_words to prefix]

Etymology

Fare-thee-well comes from the old wish 'fare thee well', meaning 'may you go well' and like the modern word farewell; its parts are fare 'go', thee 'you', and well 'well'. So, to do something to a fare-thee-well is to do it completely or perfectly.