happy medium

noun

1. a course of action or condition that is between two extremes.

   Our climate is a happy medium between hot and cold.

2. a satisfactory compromise between two things that are related in such a way that one increases as the other decreases.

   We need to find a happy medium between conserving land and developing property.

happy medium

noun

1. a course or state that avoids extremes

Word History and Origins

Origin of happy medium¹

First recorded in 1615–25

Idioms and Phrases

The midway point between two extremes. For example, We need to find a happy medium between overdoing the holiday season and ignoring it entirely. This expression, first recorded in 1778, was once known as the golden mean and is based on ancient mathematical principles.

Example Sentences

“I think, ‘I want that, I’m going to get it,’ not, ‘Is that worth 50 hours of babysitting?’” said Washburn, who is retired and lives in Rohnert Park, Calif. “There has to be a happy medium somewhere.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

How can we find a happy medium between the theater and the streaming release that lets us see the things we want without getting crushed by massive amounts of “content”?

Read more on Salon

How can we find a happy medium between the theater and the streaming release that lets us see the things we want without getting crushed by massive amounts of “content”?

Read more on Salon

Or perhaps it's a happy medium of all those things.

Read more on BBC

Asking Trump to invest in nuclear fuel amounts to a potential happy medium: it is cleaner than fossil fuels, but far removed from the solar and wind power that may not strike the Trump administration as an attractive investment.

Read more on BBC