I lamented in another forum where you original commented on lie/lay about further/farther. You response was to check the dictionary.
So here it is: "Traditionally farther and farthest were used in referring to physical distances. … Further and furthest were restricted to figurative or abstract senses."
I personally kept them straight by remembering you go farther down the road, but you further an idea. The dictionary goes on to say that further and furthest are now common in both senses and gives the example of "put the plants furthest from the window".
All I can say is "argh, yuck".
I guess if enough people use language incorrectly it eventually becomes correct. Not always a bad thing; check out
sematic shift as a way the meaning and use of words changes, sometimes for the better, sometimes not.
Now, don't get me started on "verbizing" nouns. (this previous sentence is an example: "verb" is a noun turned into a verb by adding "-ing").
