fare-thee-well
UK[ˌfeəðiˈwel]US[ˌferðiˈwel]
n
The utmost degree or highest point of something, especially in the phrase "to a fare-thee-well".
n
A state of perfection or completion.
Etymology
The phrase "fare thee well" is an archaic English valediction meaning "may you fare (travel or proceed) well," a wish for someone's good fortune. By the mid-19th century, this evocative and somewhat poetic phrase began to be used metaphorically in American English. It was repurposed to signify the pinnacle or ultimate point of something, as if an action were performed so thoroughly it deserved such a complete send-off. Thus, a literal wish for a good journey evolved into an abstract noun describing the state of being brought to perfect or exhaustive completion.
Analysis
This is a fixed idiomatic phrase fossilized into a compound noun. It is not productively formed from separable modern English morphemes for the purpose of this analysis.
Examples
The carpenter sanded the table to a fare-thee-well, leaving it perfectly smooth.
She rehearsed her speech to a fare-thee-well, knowing every pause and inflection.
The old car was restored to a fare-thee-well, looking better than it did when new.