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happy medium
A healthy balance between two extremes. It can be difficult for working mothers to find a happy medium between maintaining their careers and caring for their families.
strike a happy medium
and hit a happy medium; find a happy mediumto find a compromise position; to arrive at a position halfway between two unacceptable extremes. Ann likes very spicy food, but Bob doesn't care for spicy food at all. We are trying to find a restaurant that strikes a happy medium. Tom is either very happy or very sad. He can't seem to hit a happy medium.
in the long term
also for the long term involving a long period of time Better teacher training will make a big difference to the school in the long term. For the long term, we hope our plans will create a large number of jobs.
Related vocabulary: take the long viewa happy medium
a way of doing something which is good because it avoids being extreme (often + between ) What you want from a holiday is a happy medium between activity and relaxation. I'm either exercising all the time or I'm doing nothing but I can't seem to find a happy medium.
in the long/medium/short term
a long, medium, or short time in the future Cuts in company spending now should lead to profits in the long term. In the short term, temporary housing will be provided for all of the flood victims.
happy medium
The midway point between two extremes. For example, We need to find a happy medium between overdoing the holiday season and ignoring it entirely . This expression, first recorded in 1778, was once known as the golden mean and is based on ancient mathematical principles.