What does "fewer and further between" mean?

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

Dear teachers,

Could you please explain what “Japanese children are fewer and further between” means? I could not find the meaning of “fewer and further between” in dictionaries.

The sentence is from the BBC web site: news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6306685.stm

Thank you in advance

2

Hi,

The best known expression is the positive ‘few and far between’ meaning rare/infrequent/not often seen or heard of as in:

Examples of this kind of art are difficult to find in Africa and are few and far between these days.If you wanted to use this expression in a comparative form, you would then write:

Examples of this kind of art are more difficult to find in Europe and are fewer and further between than in Africa these days.

Alan

3

Very nice expression. It is these kinds of expressions that make me love English so much!

Thank you Alan for the clear explanation!