half the battle

half the battle

A key part of a larger goal or task. Digging the car out of the driveway will be half the battle of getting out to the store.See also: battle, half

half the battle

Fig. a significant part of an effort. Getting through traffic to the airport was half the battle. The flight was nothing at all.See also: battle, half

half the battle

A successful beginning, as in You've got the shopping list done-that's half the battle. This expression is an abbreviation of an 18th-century proverb, "The first blow is half the battle." See also: battle, half

half the battle

an important step towards achieving something.See also: battle, half

half the ˈbattle

(complete, achieve, etc.) the most difficult part of something: If you manage to keep calm when you’re taking your driving test, that’s half the battle.See also: battle, half

half the battle

A very successful start. This expression is part of an older proverb, “The first blow is half the battle,” which dates from the eighteenth century. In Oliver Goldsmith’s comedy, She Stoops to Conquer (1773), two men wish to make a good impression on their host’s daughter. One says, “I have been thinking, George, of changing our travelling dresses,” and the other replies, “You’re right: the first blow is half the battle. I intend opening the campaign with the white and gold [waistcoat].” During the nineteenth century the first half of the expression was dropped, and with overuse the term became a cliché.See also: battle, half