Unlikely to be true; unrealistic or implausible, suggesting something had to be brought from very far away.
A compound of 'far' and 'fetched' (past tense of fetch, meaning to bring). This metaphorical expression emerged in the 1600s, suggesting ideas so unlikely they seem to have been brought from an impossible distance.
The phrase 'far-fetched' is a perfect example of how English uses physical distance as a metaphor for believability—the further away something is from reality, the less likely it's true, just like far-away places seem less real to us.
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