Question Details	Asked By	Asked On
The truth is always in the middle	riccioni	08/26/04
Dear ESL Experts: In Italian, when we are asked to express our opinion on a dispute/quarrel/argument between two people, we have/use the saying "The truth is always in the middle/The truth always lies in the middle" meaning "They are both partially wrong/right," "Both sides are 50% right/wrong" or "None of the two stands is completely right." Do you have the same saying in U.S. English? If not, what do you say instead? Again, many, many thanks for your kind help. Paolo
Answered By		Answered On
voiceguy2000		08/26/04
In the U.S., a journalist might describe two opposing positions (i.e., the statements of two candidates for public office), and then remark, "In fact, the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle." I have not encountered this kind of expression in everyday conversation the way you describe it -- that is, as a conventional bit of philosophy that people recite when there is a disagreement between two people. Many years ago, there was a TV commercial for Certs brand mints that showed two actresses arguing over whether the product was a "breath mint" or a "candy mint." An announcer then came in and said, "Stop! You're both right. Certs is a breath mint and a candy mint." Later, this idea was parodied on Saturday Night Live, where the players argued about whether some yellow goo called Shimmer was a "floor polish" or "a delicious dessert topping." Dan Aykroyd stepped in to say, "Stop! You're both right!" And even later, the Miller Lite brand of beer showed people arguing over whether its main characteristic was that it "tastes great" or that it is "less filling." This suggests to me that it may be more characteristic for Americans to say, in effect, "both of you are [at least partly] correct" as opposed to "the truth lies in the middle." And of course there is always the possibility that one of the people is, in fact, completely wrong and the other one is completely correct.

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