what‘s the meaning of " fair" ? how often used in this way?can't find in dictionary
His marks in his final exams were fair to disappointing.

Question

Answer

In this context, 'fair' would mean 'sufficient but not ample' or 'adequate but not great'

Definition 10

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fair

Answer

School grades are indicated in a variety of ways. Sometimes they are "numeric grades" on a scale of 0 to 100, or 1 to 5. Sometimes they are "letter grades;" in the U.S., commonly A, B, C, D, F, with or without intermediate grades indicated by + or - signs.

Sometimes they are just words, when the idea is to show that the grade is not very precise. One traditional set of words is: "Excellent, Very good, Good, Fair, Poor, Failing."

As a grade or an evaluation, "Fair" means "acceptable, but not good."

"Would you recommend XYZ as a house painter?" "He's only fair. No complaints, but I don't think we'll use him again."

Answer

BE FAIR TO = depending on context, it might mean something average, not especially good. The meaning of the sentence is that his marks were not excellent, they were almost disappointing, but at the same time, they were not very bad. Yes, you can use it all right.

Answer

No one likes to be called "fair" or "average". There is an expression, "damned by faint praise".