middling

English

Adjective

middling (not comparable)

1. Of intermediate or average size, position, or quality; mediocre

   The football team is never the worst or best in its league; its position is always middling.

   • 12 July 2012, Sam Adams, AV Club Ice Age: Continental Drift

     The matter of whether the world needs a fourth Ice Age movie pales beside the question of why there were three before it, but Continental Drift feels less like an extension of a theatrical franchise than an episode of a middling TV cartoon, lolling around on territory that’s already been settled.

2. In fairly good health.
   • 1913, D.H. Lawrence, Sons and Lovers, chapter 8

     "And how's that chest of yours?" demanded Mrs. Morel.

     He smiled again, with his blue eyes rather sunny.

     "Oh, it's very middlin'," he said.

Synonyms

• (intermediate or average in size, position, or quality): average, medium, unexceptional

Derived terms

• fair to middling

Translations

of intermediate or average quality

• Hungarian: közepes (hu), középszerű (hu)

• Scottish Gaelic: meadhanach (gd), cuibheasach (gd)

External links

• Origin of fair to middling