noun-modifying (irregular)
farfetched; overly subtle; too clever by half
Describes an interpretation, remark, or analysis that is excessively deep, subtle, or strained, often missing the obvious. The base verb 穿つ means 'to dig into' or 'to probe deeply', and 過ぎた adds 'too much'. Used prenominally as a fixed expression.
Nobody was convinced by his farfetched interpretation.
I think that's an overly subtle way of looking at it.
Standard kanji spelling using 過ぎた for the 'too much' sense.
Variant with すぎた in kana; common in informal writing.
From the verb 穿つ (to dig into, probe) in its continuative form 穿ち + 過ぎた (past/attributive form of 過ぎる, 'to exceed'), literally 'having dug too much'. The figurative sense of 'farfetched' developed from the idea of probing too deeply into a matter.