by and large, advb. phr.
1. Naut. To the wind (within six points; cf. by prep. 9) and off it.
| 1669 Sturmy Mariner's Mag. 17 Thus you see the ship handled in fair weather and foul, by and learge. 1833 Fraser's Mag. VIII. 158 They soon find out one another's rate of sailing, by and large. 1961 F. H. Burgess Dict. Sailing 42 By and large, with the wind near the beam. |
2. In one direction and another, all ways; now esp., in a general aspect, without entering into details, on the whole.
| 1706 [see large adv. 7 b]. 1769 in Southern Lit. Mess. XVII. 183/2 Miss Betsey, a charming frigate, that will do honour to our country, if you take her by and large. 1833 J. Neal Down-Easters I. 23 A man who feels rather perplexed on the whole, take it by and large. 1869 ‘Mark Twain’ Innoc. Abr. v. 47 Taking it ‘by and large’, as the sailors say, we had a pleasant..run. 1929 Wodehouse Mr. Mulliner Speaking viii. 248 Taking it by and large—Australia seemed to him a pretty good egg. 1955 Times 23 May 9/2 The virtue of sound broadcasting was that, by and large, the content mattered more than anything else. |