do by halves | Idiomator

Meaning: (idiomatic,transitive,chiefly in the negative)To perform (a task, etc)partiallyorincompletely; to do (something)inadequately,halfheartedly, orshoddily.1880,Mark Twain, chapter 30, inA Tramp Abroad:[A] pedestrian tour of Europe could not be complete without them. Of course that decided me at once to see them, for I never allow myself todothingsby halves, or in a slurring, slipshod way.1925Sept. 21,Mordaunt Hall, "The Screen" (film review ofThe Freshman),New York Times(retrieved 5 March 2014):Rin-Tin-Tindoesnothingby halves, for he tracks the murderer himself and kills him.1988,Roald Dahl,Mathilda:Never do anything by halves if you want to get away with it. Be outrageous. Go the whole hog!2005April 8,Claus Moser, “Obituary: Jane Attenborough”, inThe Guardian, UK, retrieved5 March 2014:If there was one word to describe her, it was "intense" - so well chosen in her brother Michael's moving eulogy. Nothing, absolutely nothing wasdone by halves. . . . Her commitment was total.

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