The food was half decent /decent.

[Ashraful Haque]

What does it mean when someone says 'the food was half-decent'?

I looked it up but found out they have very similar meanings. I can't figure out what the 'half' before 'decent' emphasises?


The following are from the Cambridge dictionary.

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/half-decent
Half decent
quite good or skilled:
- Any half-decent sprinter can run 100 metres in eleven seconds.


https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/decent
Decent
acceptable, satisfactory, or reasonable:
- We get good benefits, and the pay is decent.
- It costs $100 to buy a decent sleeping bag.

 

[probus]

Synonyms for half-decent include: pretty good and not bad. Does that help?

 

[Ashraful Haque]

Synonyms for half-decent include: pretty good and not bad. Does that help?

That's my confusion. What's the difference between the two?
They both like they have the exact same meaning.

 

[probus]

All THREE have the same meaning: pretty good, not bad, and half decent. One might also add to that list "can't complain", "pretty decent", and just plain "decent" on its own.

Isn't English maddening?