In the sport of golf, "par" is the expected number of strokes that it should take the player to put the ball in the hole. While the idiom originates from this sport, its meaning on the golf course is the direct opposite of its figurative meaning.
If a person shoots "below par" on a golf hole or for an entire round of golf, he or she has performed exceptionally well. The contrasting idiom is "above par," which is considered a good thing in everyday life but is a bad result on the golf course. Jim B. Please enter the following code:. Par for the course means "what is normal or expected in any given circumstances", which is the meaning of up to par too "at an expected or usual level or quality". Sign up to join this community.
The best answers are voted up and rise to the top. Stack Overflow for Teams — Collaborate and share knowledge with a private group. Create a free Team What is Teams? Learn more. Is "below par" good or bad? Ask Question. Asked 10 years, 8 months ago. Active 10 years, 8 months ago. Viewed 36k times. Improve this question. Fixee Fixee 3, 14 14 gold badges 32 32 silver badges 52 52 bronze badges.
Add a comment. Active Oldest Votes. Improve this answer. John Y John Y 5, 1 1 gold badge 23 23 silver badges 45 45 bronze badges. F'x The relevant OED entry gives as the earliest examples of these respective uses: H. Newdigate Let. His rival Dustin Johnson broke that record in , finishing the tournament at 20 under par. You might say that kids looking at their phones in class is par for the course these days. Or that people happily paying four or five dollars for a cup of coffee has become par for the course.
In the game of golf, being subpar is good. And weird variations in our language like this? Image courtesy of Shutterstock. Oxford English Dictionary Online. Accessed May 28, Susie Dent. Chambers Harrap Publishers.
How is par on a golf course determined?
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