half

a - and a half a particular person or thing considered as an impressive example of the kind specified. informal

1998Sarah WatersTipping the Velvet The daughter must be a beauty and a half…if the mother is so eager to keep her safe and close, away from young men's eyes.

at half cock when only partly ready. informal

☞ At half cock is used of a firearm with the cock lifted but not moved to the position at which the trigger will act. It is usually found in go off at half cock or go off half-cocked meaning 'go ahead without making proper preparation and therefore fail'.

the glass is half-full (or half-empty): seeglass.

go halves (or shares) share something equally.

half the battle: seebattle.

half a chance the slightest opportunity. informal

1970Nina BawdenThe Birds on the Trees Give her half a chance and she'll make you think black's white.

half an eye: seeeye.

half a loaf not as much as you want but better than nothing.

☞ This phrase alludes to the proverb half a loaf is better than no bread, which has been in use since the mid 16th century.

the half of it the most important part or aspect of something. informal

1987George TurnerSea & Summer Mum…would ask, 'But is this true?' and Billy…would tell her that wasn't the half of it.

half seas over fairly drunk. British informal, dated

☞ The expression originally meant literally 'halfway across the sea', hence implying a condition halfway between sobriety and drunkenness.

have half a mind to do something: seemind.

hell's half acre: seehell.

how the other half lives: seeother.

listen with half an ear: seeear.

not do things by halves do things thoroughly or extravagantly.

not half

1 not nearly as.

2 not at all.

3 to an extreme degree; very much so. British informal

six of one and half a dozen of the other: seesix.

too - by half used to emphasize something bad.

2013New York Times The 1998 New York premiere of 'Inishmaan' was too precious by half, and it wasn't until I saw Garry Hynes's straightforward staging … that I began to think more fondly of it.

your better half: seebetter.