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2006-08-07 17:41:53 · 9 answers · asked by charly 3 in Education & Reference Quotations

9 answers

The phrase "by and large" today means "generally speaking," "mostly" or "on the whole." The origin is nautical, and had a very precise meaning. It was an order to the man at the helm of a sailing ship, meaning to sail the ship slightly off the wind. A similar command was "full and by" which meant to "sail as close to the wind as it can go."

2006-08-07 17:45:34 · answer #1 · answered by fzaa3's lover 4 · 0 1

A colloqiusm meaning generally. Origin uncertain. Use sparingly since this is not in common usage in modern times.

2006-08-07 23:27:39 · answer #2 · answered by ramasinc 2 · 0 0

by and large
on the whole, considering everything By and large we had a good meeting even though it was a little short.

2006-08-07 18:53:29 · answer #3 · answered by raven 2 · 0 0

As agreed by an larger group.


Having more probability.

2006-08-07 21:30:16 · answer #4 · answered by Rainbow 4 · 0 0

For our lives to have meaning you gotta be able to rim the angry bull billy no what im sayinnnnnn daaarddddd nyooorn

2016-03-16 23:45:33 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

In means "for the most part" or "generally."

2006-08-07 17:45:05 · answer #6 · answered by Fall Down Laughing 7 · 0 1

Considering all things. Thanks for the question -- I never got around to looking up where this idiom came from until you asked.

2006-08-07 17:55:25 · answer #7 · answered by dragonwych 5 · 0 0

more or less

2006-08-08 01:27:13 · answer #8 · answered by max24 2 · 0 0

"mainly"

2006-08-07 19:33:00 · answer #9 · answered by Genvieve 2 · 0 0

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