# fair to middling

> English word · Adjective

## Definitions
1. Only tolerably good; somewhat favorable.

## Etymology
From the practice of classifying agricultural commodities as fair or middling. The earliest attested instance of these descriptions being combined into the phrase fair to middling was in a British publication of 1822 but the first instance of this usage being generalised is from an American publication of 1837

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/fair-to-middling