few and far between

Idioms  

1. At wide intervals, scarce, as in Supporters of the amendment are few and far between. This expression originally was used very literally for physical objects such as houses appearing at widely separated intervals. Today it is also used more loosely. [Mid-1600s]

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Example Sentences

Sarah Regan, the residential manager at the Hull Deaf Centre, said qualified individuals were "few and far between".

From BBC

These days the pieces were few and far between.

From Literature

There is the argument that the dollar can influence company earnings, but Chronert notes that relationship is weaker than before: “Large multinationals at the top end of the S&P 500 do have foreign sales, sometimes large portions of overall revenue. Yet few and far between are these foreign sales actual exports from the U.S. Rather, goods are often foreign produced and sold, complicating the dollar to earnings relationship.”

From Barron's

Those will be few and far between.

From Slate

But changes to her story for TV are few and far between.

From BBC

Related Words

• extraordinary
• limited
• occasional
• scarce
• singular
• strange
• subtle
• uncommon
• unique
• unlikely
• unthinkable
• unusual