Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[Bubu]

Hallo,
What is the difference between "by far" and "far and away" and how "so far" is different from"by far"

Thanks

[BMO]

I jotted these down from www.onelook.com (Dictionary.com online)

by far
To the most extreme or evident degree: She is by far the best executive in the company.

far and away
By a great margin: �That made him, far and away, the best known of the Democrats who started the presidential race this year� (Tom Wicker).

so far
Up to the present moment: So far there's been no word from them.
To a limited extent: You can go only so far on five dollars.

It looks like By far > far and away.

[mkg1211]

Acording to Longman
Private Dictionary
by far/far and away
used to say that something is much better, worse etc than anything else
Watching sport was by far the most popular activity on Saturday afternoons. Spring is far and away the best time to visit the islands

(i thinks it's clear that they are synonyms)

so far means until now

[bud]

I agree with mkg1211. They are synonyms in my mind.

[BMO]

Thanks. Is it true the only difference is that far and away can't be at the end of a sentence.

[bud]

You're probably right, BMO. I can't explain the grammar (perhaps you can?), but neither can I think of an example to refute it.