on the whole | Idiomator

Meaning: (idiomatic)For the most part;apartfrom someinsignificantdetails.The language was wrong for the period, but,on the whole, I enjoyed the film.1849,Henry David Thoreau,A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers, Monday:Davis had a ball lodged in his body, and his right hand shot off; buton the whole, he seems to have been less damaged than his companion.1910,E. M. Forster, chapter 5, inHowards End:[H]is class was near enough her own for its manners to vex her. But she found him interestingon the whole.2012January 18, Simon Shuster, “The Anti-Putin Movement: An Interview with the Blogger in Chief”, inTime, retrieved18 August 2013:Both Maidan and Tahrir were peaceful. Maidan was absolutely peaceful, Tahrir saw some unrest but was still peacefulon the whole.

Examples:

EN: It's an attachment on the whole house.
ES: Es un embargo de toda la casa.
EN: If you walk out with me I'll give you the lowdown on the whole story.
ES: Si viene conmigo, le contaré toda la historia.
EN: Well, I've got the three best bets on the whole West Side for you tonight and my own girl's one of them, so give them a break.
ES: Tengo las tres mejores chicas de todo el West Side para ti esta noche... y una es mi chica, así que no las atosigues.
EN: Do you know .. the only credulous animal on the whole face of the earth.
ES: - Perdone, Sra. Stanhope.
EN: Say, I am the best fisherman on the whole Pacific Ocean.
ES: Soy el mejor pescador del Océano Pacífico.
EN: I got the biggest boat on the whole California coast.
ES: Tengo el barco más grande de toda la costa de California.
EN: Aren't you proud of them, Colonel? Perhaps, on the whole.
ES: ¿No está orgulloso de ellos, Coronel?
EN: And you have behaved most becomingly on the whole.
ES: Y usted en conjunto se ha portado bien.
EN: If you listen to me, you'll be the best pilot on the whole river... outside of Duke and me.
ES: Tú hazme caso y serás la mejor piloto de todo el río,... aparte de Duke... y de mí.
EN: There isn't a rougher joint on the whole Barbary Coast... than that home right here on Nob Hill.
ES: No hay un lugar más alocado en toda la costa Barbary... que esta casa en Nob Hill.
EN: You must read my little monograph on the whole art of poisoning. Did the people of the house partake of the same dish without any ill effects?
ES: ¿La gente de la casa comió lo mismo sin notar efecto alguno?
EN: Look at it, hanging up there. Throwing back light of the sun on the whole world and us.
ES: Mírala, allá, reflejando el sol para el mundo y nosotros.
EN: I walked out on the whole business.
ES: Me salí de todo el asunto.
EN: A sterling chap on the whole.
ES: Alguien admirable en general.
EN: And although Nancy's been conducting herself on the whole as I outlined to you and Dr. Gillespie, to my amazement at dinner tonight she was her own normal sweet self.
ES: Y aunque Nancy ha estado comportándose en términos generales... para mi asombro, en la cena de esta noche, ha estado de lo más dulce, como solía ser antes.

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