half is more than the whale
Preserved but no longer current.
This is what Hcsiod said to his brother Perseus, when he wished him to settle a dispute without going to law. He meant ",half of the estate without the expense of law will be better than the whole after the lawyers have had their pickings.'* The remark, however, has a very wide signification.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “half is more than the whale” mean?
This is what Hcsiod said to his brother Perseus, when he wished him to settle a dispute without going to law. He meant ",half of the estate without the expense of law will be better than the whole after the lawyers have had their pickings.'* The remark, however, has a very wide signification.
Is “half is more than the whale” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.