adjective Fair to middling is an idiomatic expression used to describe something that is average or moderate in quality or condition.
preposition The word 'to' in this expression is a preposition that connects the two adjectives 'fair' and 'middling'.
The company's financial performance for the quarter was fair to middling, showing some improvement but not meeting expectations.
The crop yield this year is fair to middling, not as good as last year but not a total failure either.
The employee's work has been fair to middling, demonstrating average competency but lacking exceptional results.
In a professional review of a book, a writer might describe the writing as 'fair to middling' to indicate that it is average or mediocre in quality.
A psychologist might use the term 'fair to middling' when assessing a client's progress in therapy, indicating that there has been some improvement but it is not significant.
A teacher might use 'fair to middling' when grading a student's performance on an assignment, suggesting that it is neither exceptional nor poor.
A salesperson might use 'fair to middling' to describe their sales performance for the quarter, indicating that it was average or satisfactory but not outstanding.