What does half-staff mean?
Half-staff means (US, Canada, sometimes Philippines) Half-mast..
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Pronunciation varies by accent · noun
(US, Canada, sometimes Philippines) Half-mast..
President Bush's decision to honor Pope John Paul II by ordering flags lowered to half-staff on all public buildings has reignited a debate about the separation of church and state.
[T]he agents of the steamship lines drowned their sorrow in rum and ran the house flags to half-staff.
Marshal Joseph Pilsudski, Poland's man of power, died here tonight. . . . Flags were lowered to half staffs.
[T]he flags at Ottawa fire stations were lowered to half-staff in tribute.
Use half-staff when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.
Half-staff means (US, Canada, sometimes Philippines) Half-mast..
The closest synonym depends on the sentence and intended sense.
The opposite depends on the specific sense.
President Bush's decision to honor Pope John Paul II by ordering flags lowered to half-staff on all public buildings has reignited a debate about the separation of church and state.
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