Farther or further? Change one letter and puzzlement ensues.

I’m often confused by FARTHER and FURTHER, so I went to my fave online resource – Merriam-Webster – as a starting point. 

A quick and succinct explanation

“Farther is for physical distance and further is for figurative distance.”

You can see their full explanation here – Merriam-Webster Further or Farther  

To further (haha, see what I did there?) complicate this issue, both FARTHER and FURTHER can be an adverb, adjective, or a verb, and at times can be interchangeable.  

But, I’m gonna keep it simple. I hope. 

Examples – farther – distance 

Forrest Gump ran farther than any American.  

You can stretch your arms and legs farther than the pip squeak next to you. 

You will fly farther than D. B. Cooper who just jumped off the plane with a satchel full of money. 

Examples – further – figurative 

Here I am, standing in front of Congress. I have just provided three specific instances of sedition by a certain member of Congress. But I have one more point to make. I would say, “Further, Ms. Lime-Green demonstrates…” 

You could not be further from the truth. 

She would do anything to further her agenda. 

Kudos to Grammarly

For another fabulous and reliable source, consult Grammarly Farther or Further.

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*Note – This blog article was edited and proofread by Shawn MacKenzie. Any boo-boos that remain are mine.