middle-of-the-road

middle of the road

1. Describing an option that is neither the most nor the least expensive. I don't need a high-end TV, but I don't want the cheapest one either. I'm looking for a middle of the road option.
2. Moderate or centrist. Most of the voters found the candidate's middle of the road platform to be reasonable and palatable.
See also: middle, of, road
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

middle-of-the-road

COMMON
1. If you describe a person or their political ideas as middle-of-the-road, you mean that they are neither very left-wing nor very right-wing. He presents himself as a moderate, middle-of-the-road kind of person who understands and takes into consideration both sides of any issue. At some point during the '80s, the Labour Party turned into the party of middle-of-the-road socialism.
2. If someone or something is middle-of-the-road, they are very ordinary, and not unusual, exciting, or extreme. These are, for the most part, ordinary middle-of-the-road people who want the usual things out of life. They play very bland, middle-of-the-road music.
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.
See also:
  • don't get me wrong
  • (someone's) secret is safe with (one)
  • don't beat a dead horse
  • all in (one's) head
  • come it
  • come it (with one)
  • a thing you don't want is dear at any price
  • (I) won't tell a soul
  • don't go there
References in periodicals archive
SCRAP MUSIC: Bill, left, and Peter want jobs back; BLUE CORNER: Middle-of-the-road Tel was a hit with Peter; RED CORNER: Moyles was the choice of Birthday boy Bill
RADIO RAGE; Council workers in punch up over Wogan versus Moyles
Whatever your opinion of The Beautiful South, you would be hard-pressed to find anything middle-of-the-road about last night's hugely enjoyable performance.
Beautiful - and never boring
When I said middle-of-the-road above, perhaps I was being unfair.
Symphonie Fantastique; Love Scene from Romeo et Juliette
Fourteen independents of conservative or middle-of-the-road stripes and four reform-minded independents were also elected to the 44-member chamber.
Reform camp's strength in Naha assembly rises by 1
He criticised Thatcherism for closing down the coal mines and breeding a `culture of self', saying: "We have a Government that's so middle-of-the-road. I miss the passion."
TV swordsman Green takes a swipe at Blair
Perhaps most telling for aging bodies, alcohol and cigarettes prove far more alluring to those who at times experience mental anguish than to individuals whose middle-of-the-road mood never swerves.
Squares live longer
In his typically understated manner, O'Gara goes on to say: "It would be helpful in my view, if the Catholic position, which is a middle-of-the-road position, were more clearly understood."
How to die in good faith
Strasburg says its the middle-of-the-road Members who will weigh the right thing to do with the political fallout.
Council to debate rent regulations
In 1992, IRS publication 525, Taxable and Nontaxable Income, took a middle-of-the-road approach, saying that the refund should be multiplied by a fraction: state tax paid (after the 3% reduction) is the numerator and the total state tax paid is the denominator.
Tax benefit rule: a harsh IRS interpretation
The GTF took a fatal middle-of-the-road stance, and then passed the buck to its recommended predecessor, an ill-defined Northern Forest Lands Council.
Endgame for the Northern Forest?
Other entries include beigism - boring, middle-of-the-road attitudes' butters - very ugly girls and sadfab - women who are single and desperate for a baby.
Last word in insults
Often, however, a Chinese meal will consist of several varied dishes, and a wine that will work well at a Chinese banquet is a medium-dry to lightly sweet riesling, a middle-of-the-road chardonnay or mild, full-bodied merlot.
Wine Choice; WHAT'S ON:STAYING IN
Without explaining the term, he frequently touted "the third way," a middle-of-the-road approach that includes Marxist economics and international usurpation of nationhood.
"Citizen of the world" Clinton. (The Last Word)
DUBLIN'S Lite FM, the radio station that specialises in middle-of-the-road words and music, is seeking an investor keen to take a stake in the company - or possibly buy it out completely.
SUZY in the CITY IN DUBLIN: SHARES ON THE RECORD
Savvy, sleek, crisp, and flat, Frank Nitsche's paintings make an honorable, middle-of-the-road style--gestural geometric abstraction--look suddenly like the fast lane.
Frank Nitsche. (Reviews)