It is often recommended that a flag at half-staff be lowered only as much as the hoist, or width, of the flag.[5][6] British flag protocol is that a flag should be flown no less than two-thirds of the way up the flagpole, with at least the height of the flag between the top of the flag and the top of the pole.[7] It is common for the phrase to be taken literally and for a flag to be flown only halfway up a flagpole,[8] although some authorities deprecate that practice.[6]