to go farther and fare worse
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
To take more pains and trouble and yet find oneself in a worse position.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “to go farther and fare worse” mean?
To take more pains and trouble and yet find oneself in a worse position.
Is “to go farther and fare worse” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.