meet someone halfway
Meaning: To make a compromise with someone.
Language: English
Literally: (Already vivid in English)
Example: “The landlord wouldn't cut the rent entirely, but he met us halfway.”
Category: Daily Life
Origin: The image is of two travelers each covering half the distance. The figurative sense is long established; its first use has not been traced.
Equivalents in other languages
- Dutch: water bij de wijn doen — literally: to add water to the wine
- French: Mettre de l'eau dans son vin — literally: To put water in one's wine
More idioms — Daily Life
- wear sackcloth and ashes — To show public regret or repentance.
- sit on the fence — To avoid taking sides.
- take an ax to — To cut something drastically, especially spending or jobs.
- in the crosshairs — Targeted for attack, criticism or scrutiny.
- raise a hue and cry — To make a loud public protest.
- a Sophie's choice — An agonizing choice between two terrible options.
More English idioms
- have a free hand — To have freedom to act as one sees fit.
- take a load off someone's mind — To relieve someone of a worry.
- a bottomless pit — Something that uses up endless money or effort; also a person who is always hungry.
- in the middle of nowhere — In a very remote place, far from towns.
- out of thin air — Appearing from nowhere, as if by magic.
- be at a low ebb — To be in a poor or weak state.
From our proverbs
- A heavy purse makes a light heart. — Wealth alleviates worries and anxiety, allowing people to experience contentment and peac…
- He who gets four pounds and spends five has no need of a purse. — Spending beyond one's means makes financial planning irrelevant; the purse empties regard…
- Don't quarrel with the beggar for his bone. — Arguing with someone who has nothing to lose is pointless and beneath your dignity.