strike a happy medium

To find an answer to a problem that is halfway between two unsatisfactory answers.

Mary said the dress was blue. Jane said it was green. They finally struck a happy medium and decided it was blue-green.

Two teaspoons of sugar made the cup of coffee too sweet, and one not sweet enough. One heaping teaspoon struck a happy medium.

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Source: A Dictionary of American Idioms

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medium

[medium] See: [STRIKE A HAPPY MEDIUM]. A Dictionary of American Idioms

happy

[happy] See: [STRIKE A HAPPY MEDIUM], [TRIGGER HAPPY] at [QUICK ON THE TRIGGER]. A Dictionary of American Idioms

happy hunting ground

[happy hunting ground] {n. phr.} 1. The place where, in American Indian belief, a person goes after death; heaven. * /The Indians believed that at death they went to the […] A Dictionary of American Idioms

strike gold

[strike gold] {v. phr.} 1. To find gold. * /Ted struck gold near an abandoned mine in California./ 2. To find suddenly the answer to an old puzzle. * /Professor […] A Dictionary of American Idioms

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