What is the meaning of the phrases "well along" & "far on" as well as the meaning of the phrase "deep into" in this context?

Question

This is a sentence I encounter while reading a book.

"Deep into the nineteenth century, Hippocrates and most of those who followed him also believed that natural processes must not be interfered with."

I didn't know exactly what "deep into" meant so I referred to TFD for answers. These are the definitions I found for "deep"

2. Well along in time; late: worked deep into the night.
3. far on in time; late: they worked deep into the night.

Now, It's clear these two basically mean late but I would like to understand what those first parts of those definitions exactly mean. I've never heard those phrases before. Are those phrasal verbs or separate words? For the word "on" I found a Longman dictionary def: ON syn LATER later than or after a particular time

Does "far on" mean far later then? As for the word "along" I couldn't find anything describing the passage of time on the internet.

Also what exactly deep into means?

Answer 1

"Deep into" something means far down in something, particularly a body of water or liquid

• "The chef plunged the meat deep into the fat
• The pearl divers go deep into the Agean.

But this phrase is nowe often used as a metaphor, ratehr than literally.

He is deep into Ruskin

means that he has been studying Ruskin and is seriously interested in the works or thought of that author.

One could also say "she is deeply into gold" meaning she has invested a lot in gold.

"Deep into the nineteenth century" is a somewhat unusual phrase. Here it clearly means some time significantly later than 1800, but not as late as 1900. It could easily mean anywhere from say 1840 to 1890, but one cannot be sure how the author intends it.

"Well into the nineteenth century" has exactly the same meaning, and is a far more common phrase.

"Deep into", "well into", "well along" and "late" are all relatice in such uses, of course. "deep into the night" refers to a period of hurs, perhaps midnight, perhaps 5 in the morning. "Well into the nineteenth century" means a period of decades. In any case "Well into X" means a point significantly beyond the start of X, but short of its end.

"Far on" is more often used of a physical distance: "They went far on along the road". Again it means significantly past the start, but not all the way to the end. "far along" can be use in the same way,

The original example

Deep into the nineteenth century, Hippocrates and most of those who followed him also believed that natural processes must not be interfered with.

is also a little odd it its use of "Hippocrates and most of those who followed him". Hippocrates himself, of course, did not believe anything in the nineteenth century; he was long dead by that time. I think this would be better phrased as:

Well into the nineteenth century, most of those who followed Hippocrates also believed that natural processes must not be interfered with.