par for the course

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English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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Originally a phrase used in golf. Ironically completing a golf course in par (or even net par) is actually unusually good for most golfers and is not a typical result.

Pronunciation

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  • (UK) IPA(key): /ˈpɑː fə ðə ˈkɔːs/
  • (US) IPA(key): /ˈpɑɹ fɚ ðə ˈkɔɹs/, /-ˈkɔəɹs/
  • Audio (General Australian):(file)

Adjective

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par for the course (not generally comparable, comparative more par for the course, superlative most par for the course)

  1. (idiomatic) To be expected; normal; common.
    It took a long time to finish, but that's par for the course on a project like this.
    • 2017 December 8, Hadley Freeman, “Adam Gopnik: ‘You’re waltzing along and suddenly you’re portrayed as a monster of privilege’”, in The Guardian[1], →ISSN:
      [] Nigella Lawson and Ralph Fiennes, we were told, might pop by later. The Gopniks smiled calmly: this was all par for the course for them.
    • 2022, Jimmy Soni, The Founders: The Story of Paypal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley[2], Simon and Schuster, →ISBN:
      The extra scrutiny was a sign of the times, but having never IPO-ed a company before, most of the executive team took it as par for the course.

Synonyms

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Translations

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