Question

in_the_loop_548 usual or to be expected; typical Compare to: rule of thumb

Accepted Answer

PAR FOR THE COURSE Robert is late as usual. It’s par for the course.I asked for five different kinds of sandwiches at the cafeteria, and they didn’t have any of them. But that’s par for the course; they never have half the items listed on the menu. The expression originates from the game of golf, in which par is the expected or usual number of strokes a player should take to get the ball from the tee into the hole on that particular course. The expression is usually used in a negative context, i.e. one couldn’t expect anything better.

Id	in_the_loop_548
Idiom	PAR FOR THE COURSE
Definition	usual or to be expected; typical
Examples	Robert is late as usual. It’s par for the course. I asked for five different kinds of sandwiches at the cafeteria, and they didn’t have any of them. But that’s par for the course; they never have half the items listed on the menu.
Cross-Refs	Compare to: rule of thumb
Extra Info	The expression originates from the game of golf, in which par is the expected or usual number of strokes a player should take to get the ball from the tee into the hole on that particular course. The expression is usually used in a negative context, i.e. one couldn’t expect anything better.

Par Usual Expression Loop Expected Typical Robert Late