¿De Por Medio?

¿De Por Medio?
 

People,

I ran across something in a Spanish film, but they were talking fast and I didn't quite pick up the context.

The person said "de por medio". Is this common, or just in Spain?

Could this mean "by means of", "through the medium of"? Or perhaps "in the middle"?

To my Anglo Saxon ear, it sounds unusual.

Does anyone have a clue?

Dean/Silopanna

Indeed, two prepositions aren't frequently together, but this is a pretty common set expression. It talks about something/someone that interacts or interferes with something/someone else.

- No gané el concurso porque hubo dinero de por medio.
I didn't win the contest because there was money involved. (Someone else paid to win.)
- Quería insultar a tu esposo, pero estás tú de por medio.
I wanted to insult your husband, but you're in the middle of us. (I don't want to make things bad for you in your marriage, despite the fact that I hate your husband.) :D
- No tiene sentido hablar contigo, si no hay de por medio una verdadera intención de comunicación.
It's useless talking to you when there is no real intention to communicate between us.
- Hay muchos intereses de por medio en este negocio.
There are plenty of individual interests involved in this business.

Angelica,

Thanks for the illucidation.

For me, that's another piece to the puzzle.

Later!

Dean/Silopanna