Meaning & use
fair to middling
Last updated
Meanings
phrasefixed phrase
Of average quality or condition; not especially good but not bad either.
Grammar: Used mainly after the verb 'be' or 'feel' to describe how good something is; it does not come before a noun.
Patterns
- be fair to middling
- feel fair to middling
The hotel was fair to middling — clean enough, but nothing special.
Her chances of winning are fair to middling.
The food at the cafeteria is fair to middling; I eat there only when I have to.
phrasefixed phraseinformal
Used to describe a person's health or mood as neither very good nor very bad.
Grammar: Often used in reply to 'How are you?' when you do not want to complain but are not feeling great.
Patterns
- be fair to middling
- feel fair to middling
"How are you feeling today?" "Fair to middling, thanks."
He's been fair to middling since the operation — not worse, but not much better.
Common combinations
- be fair to middling
- The movie was fair to middling — I wouldn't watch it again.
- feel fair to middling
- I feel fair to middling this morning, so I'll go to work.
- fair to middling weather
- We had fair to middling weather on our trip: a few sunny days and a few rainy ones.
- fair to middling performance
- The team gave a fair to middling performance and lost by one goal.
Synonyms and how they differ
- so-so
- More common in everyday speech and slightly more negative; 'fair to middling' suggests a little more hope or acceptability.
- average
- Neutral and factual; 'fair to middling' is more informal and often carries a hint of disappointment.
- mediocre
- Stronger and more disapproving; 'mediocre' means clearly not good, while 'fair to middling' is milder.
Opposites
Commonly confused: fair to middling or fair and square?
fair to middling vs fair and square
This means 'honest and according to the rules', not 'average'. Don't mix the two phrases.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'fair to middling' correctly?
Choose one answer.
Option 0 correctly uses the phrase to mean 'average' after the verb 'was'. Option 1 is wrong because 'fair to middling' does not mean 'excellent' and would not be followed by 'that everyone loved'. Option 2 is wrong because you don't use it before an adjective like 'tall'. Option 3 is wrong because it suggests the weather was bad enough to stay inside, but the phrase means neither good nor bad.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “fair to middling”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.