What does "a far cry" mean?

[Mahmud]

Test No. incompl/inter-43 "A Crying Shame", question 9

George is now 70 and he reckons that working conditions for the average office clerk today are a ......... cry from when he first started work.

(a) distant
(b) long
(c) far
(d) further

Test No. incompl/inter-43 "A Crying Shame", answer 9

George is now 70 and he reckons that working conditions for the average office clerk today are a far cry from when he first started work.

Correct answer: (c) far

Your answer was: n/a
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What does "a far cry" mean?
Thanks

Mahmud

[Torsten]

If you were disappointed by the difference between the actual situation and what you had expected you can say it was a far cry from what I have expected.
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Test Of English for International Communication
TOEIC Preparation & TOEIC Vocabulary

[Katarzyna]

There is a spelling mistake in this sentence:

disappointed

Regards

[Sevide]

Hi,

Does this sentence mean that the conditions when George first started work were much better than the today's working conditions ?

Thanks ahead.

[Alan]

Hi Sevide,

A far cry from means quite different from. In this sentence the meaning is that condtions today are far better than they were when he was working. It is often used in the sense of looking back and realising that things have improved and become better than they were in the past.

Alan
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You can read my ESL story A day in the life of a policeman

[Sevide]

Hi Alan,

I got it!thanks

It's a great site you know!