A happy medium is a sensible middle point between two extremes that works for everyone: between work and rest, or between strictness and freedom. People usually say find a happy medium or strike a happy medium. The expression is neutral, so it suits both conversation and essays.
When would you say a happy medium?
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find/strike + a happy medium; a happy medium between + A + and + B
- I work from home two days a week, which is a happy medium between office life and total isolation.
- My partner wanted luxury and I wanted a hostel, so we found a happy medium: a small family-run hotel.
- Good teachers strike a happy medium between correcting every mistake and ignoring them all.
What changed
First versionWe need to find a golden middle between work and rest.
RevisionWe need to find a happy medium between work and rest.
Golden middle is not an English expression, although a listener will probably get the idea. There is the bookish the golden mean from philosophy, but in everyday English people say a happy medium. Only golden middle was replaced.
The related word compromise stresses concessions: each side gives something up. A happy medium is a good point in the middle where nobody really loses out: Two days in the office and three at home is a happy medium for me. In essays the same idea is often expressed with balance: strike a balance between work and study.
Your turn
My flatmate wants the heating on all day and I want it off, so we're trying to find ___: on in the evenings only.
Show the answer
a happy medium — The flatmates want opposite things, and having the heating on only in the evenings works for both of them. That middle option is a happy medium. A happy ending is the way a story or film ends when everything turns out well, and it has nothing to do with an argument about heating.
Think of two extremes you used to swing between: work and rest, saving and spending, study and sleep. Name both extremes and explain what happy medium you found.
I used to either study all weekend or not study at all, but now I've found a happy medium: two hours on Saturday morning and the rest of the weekend free.
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