golden mean

American  

noun

1. the perfect moderate course or position that avoids extremes; the happy medium.

2. golden section.

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golden mean British  

noun

1. the middle course between extremes

2. another term for golden section

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golden mean Cultural  

1. The desirable middle ground between any two extremes, according to the philosophy of Aristotle.

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Etymology

Origin of golden mean

First recorded in 1580–90

Example Sentences

‘A golden mean exists between security and deprivation.’

From MarketWatch

And yet, she still recommends Aristotle's "golden mean," which she summarizes as "the right emotion or the right action for the right context in the right amount."

From Salon

He’d used an artist’s technique called “the golden mean” to divide the picture into imaginary thirds both vertically and horizontally, like a tic-tac-toe board.

From Literature

Mr. Dunwoody showed us how to find the golden mean using proportions and a ruler, but none of us really got it, not even Clive Pike.

From Literature

Spago today lands squarely in the golden mean of upscale dining: modern but not exactly modernist; elegant but not stuffy; stimulating but rarely thrilling.

From Los Angeles Times