middlings
Neither best nor worst
Middlings are particles of medium size or quality, typically the coarser parts of ground grain that fall between the fine flour and the bran.
In milling, they're often reprocessed or used for animal feed.
The term extends to anything of intermediate or mediocre quality—neither the best nor the worst.
The crop yield was middlings this year.
In some dialects, middlings serves as an adverb meaning fairly or moderately: How are you? Oh, middlings.
Cereal grain husk
- shortsAbbreviated lower garments
- millfeedMilling byproduct for livestock
- wheatCereal crop for flour
- millingProcessing grain mechanically
sifting · bolting · grist · flour · cereal · rye · barley · oats
Arithmetic mean or ordinary
- ordinaryStandard, unremarkable
- unremarkableNot worthy of comment
- passableMinimally sufficient quality
- so-soIndifferently average quality
tolerable · fair · modest · unexceptional · undistinguished · commonplace · second-rate · indifferent
bran
Cereal grain husk
milling · sifting · bolting · grist · flour · cereal · rye · barley · oats · endosperm
average
Arithmetic mean or ordinary
- ordinaryStandard, unremarkable
- unremarkableNot worthy of comment
- passableMinimally sufficient quality
so-so · tolerable · fair · modest · unexceptional · undistinguished · commonplace · second-rate · indifferent · lackluster
fodder
Coarse livestock nourishment
cattle · ration · supplement · nutrition · protein · fiber · silage · hay · forage · pellets
cotton
Plant fiber for textiles
grading · sorting · spinning · yarn · carding · combing · mill · classification
- flour millingflour, grinding, millstones, flour mills, wheat flour
- millingmill, grist mill, mills, corn mill, grain mill
- Miller thingsmillstone, mill wheel, hopper, grinding, milling
- coal processingwashery, clean coal, crushing, screening, sizing
- feed ingredientsbran, wheat bran, rice bran, oat bran, shorts
- animal feedhorse feed, poultry feed, bird food, grain, chicken feed
middlingsfine flour
Finely milled grain powder
superfine · bran · fines · flour · cake flour
middlingsbest
Highest in quality
finest · cream of the crop · elite · crème de la crème · top tier
- fair to middlingAverage, nothing special