by halves
prep_phrase1
Idiomatic, In the negative Partially, incompletely; inadequately, halfheartedly, shoddily.
- Thou fool, I ne'er do things by halves, Farthings are made for Irish slaves; No brass for me, it must be gold, Or fifty pounds in silver told.c. 1724, Punch's Petition to the Ladies, Jonathan Swift:
- I have no notion of loving people by halves; it is not my nature. My attachments are always excessively strong.1817, Jane Austen, chapter 6, in Northanger Abbey:
4 more examples
- Johnson, who, as we have before remarked, rarely praised or dispraised things by halves, broke forth in a warm eulogy.1849, Washington Irving, chapter 26, in Oliver Goldsmith: A Biography:
- She was too thoroughgoing to do things by halves.1901, Ralph Connor, chapter 6, in The Man From Glengarry:
- "When things happen to us in Latin America, it is never by halves. There is no equilibrium, so when it rains, towns get inundated and disappear, and when we have a revolution, half the population dies."1989 July 30, Larry Rohter, “Theater: In Latin America, Headlines Inspire The Drama”, in New York Times, retrieved 05 Mar 2014:
- They don't do things by halves in the States. Whether it is cars, burgers or waistlines, Americans like to think bigger.2006 Sept. 24, Gareth Chadwick, "Far-flung business: Making all the right moves, The Independent (UK) (retrieved 5 March 2014)
- Derived terms
- do by halves
- Related terms
- by half