down the middle

1. Divided into two equal parts.

comparative more down the middle · superlative most down the middle

1. Centrist; not leaning too heavily in favor of a particular political, religious, etc. persuasion.

   Mr. Prevost, who described himself to Mr. Morgan as a “MAGA type,” said the new pope was “much more liberal” than he was — although, when asked, he said that he would not necessarily call his brother “woke.” He said he expected Leo XIV to play things “down the middle.”

   2025 May 13, Richard Fausset, quoting Louis Prevost, “The Pope’s Florida Brother, a MAGA Disciple, Plans to ‘Tone It Down’”, in The New York Times, →ISSN