By and large

[probus]

Do you hear it where you live? What does it mean?

[5jj]

Do you hear it where you live? What does it mean?

Generally (but not always).

[BobK]

Do you hear it where you live? What does it mean?

Yes. It's a nautical metaphor:

...
# By and large – By means into the wind, while large means with the wind. "By and large" is used to indicate all possible situations "the ship handles well both by and large".
...

Read more here: Glossary of nautical terms - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

As you'll see from that link (very long list!), current language is full of such terms, although people who use the words have any idea of the background.

b

[Barb_D]

I love, love, LOVE the background you bring to these discussions!

[BobK]

b

[Tdol]

I had no idea where it came from.