Ashraful Haque
Senior Member
- Joined
- May 14, 2019
- Member Type
- Student or Learner
- Native Language
- Bengali; Bangla
- Home Country
- Bangladesh
- Current Location
- Bangladesh
What does it mean when someone says 'the food was half-decent'?
I looked it up but found out they have very similar meanings. I can't figure out what the 'half' before 'decent' emphasises?
The following are from the Cambridge dictionary.
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/half-decent
Half decent
quite good or skilled:
- Any half-decent sprinter can run 100 metres in eleven seconds.
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/decent
Decent
acceptable, satisfactory, or reasonable:
- We get good benefits, and the pay is decent.
- It costs $100 to buy a decent sleeping bag.
I looked it up but found out they have very similar meanings. I can't figure out what the 'half' before 'decent' emphasises?
The following are from the Cambridge dictionary.
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/half-decent
Half decent
quite good or skilled:
- Any half-decent sprinter can run 100 metres in eleven seconds.
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/decent
Decent
acceptable, satisfactory, or reasonable:
- We get good benefits, and the pay is decent.
- It costs $100 to buy a decent sleeping bag.