| happy medium | |
| —n | |
| a course or state that avoids extremes | |
| a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison. |
| the offspring of a zebra and a donkey. |
| Main Entry: | happy medium |
| Part of Speech: | n |
| Definition: | a satisfactory compromise |
happy medium
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.