"Par for the Course" Idiom Meaning, Origin & History | Superduper English Idioms
Channel: Superduper English Idioms
Date: 05/07/2021

0:00 - How to Say, “Par for the course.”
0:21 - Examples of “Par for the course.”
1:12 - Meaning of “Par for the course.”
1:29 - Origin of “Par for the course.”
3:42 - More Examples of “Par for the course.”
4:27 - Conclusion

“Par for the course.”

If someone says that something is “par for the course”, it means that it is expected, presumed, assumed to be the case already, or is going to happen.

“Noisy neighbours and noise from the street is par for the course when you live in an apartment downtown,” you might be telling a friend from the suburbs that is spending a night with you.

Maybe you’re at the supermarket, “Wow, the price of groceries is so much higher now… I guess that’s par for the course when the government is pouring stimulus money into the economy.”

“Losing contact with a few friends is par for the course as you get older,” you might be chatting with your mom about life in general.

As you can see, “par for the course” means that a certain aspect of something is normal, typical, usual, given the circumstances, situation, context.

The idiom, “par for the course”, comes from golf, starting in the late 19th century and has made its way into everyday speech.

In golf, each hole on a golf course has a predetermined number of strokes that a decent golfer would take in order to complete the hole - this is called “par”.

An 18-hole golf course typically has a par around 72, so if you’re half decent at this sport, then you will probably get a score that’s “par for the course”.

Older, experienced people are always trying to temper younger, inexperienced folks’ expectations, so it is no wonder that every culture has its own “par for the course” idiom.

In Mexico, you would hear, “para variar”, which translates literally to “for a change” - probably said with a healthy dose of sarcasm!

“Does not exceed the ingredients,” or, “is within the amount of ingredients,” is something said in Singapore, Malaysia and China.

In Germany, Switzerland and Austria, you might hear that it’s “the order of the day” or that it’s natural, self-evident, obvious.

When you undertake a project or set out to reach a goal, it’s helpful to try to understand what is “par for the course”, so that you aren’t surprised, caught off guard, flabbergasted.

“When you’re trying to secure loans for your business idea, a lot of rejection is par for the course,” your friend experienced in entrepreneurship tells you.

Perhaps you’re getting a vaccine and the nurse says, “Side effects after the shot are par for the course, so don’t be alarmed if you develop a fever…”

“Picking up dog poop is par for the course when you have dogs,” you might be trying to convince your child that a pet isn’t worth it.

So, the next time that you want to describe something as normal, usual, expected, unsurprising given the situation or circumstances you’re in, just say it’s “par for the course”.

#superduperenglishidioms #englishidioms #idioms #proverbs

References: http://forums.tomisimo.org/showthread.php?t=9590

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english-chinese-simplified/be-par-for-the-course

https://linguaholic.com/topic/2029-is-there-a-german-equivilent-of-par-for-the-course/