par for the course

Idioms  

1. An average or normal amount; just what one might expect. For example, I missed three questions, but that's par for the course. This term comes from golf, where it refers to the number of strokes needed by an expert golfer to finish the entire course. Its figurative use for other kinds of expectation dates from the second half of the 1900s.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

par for the course

Boehly was reviled by Chelsea’s supporters but took the criticism in good humor, saying it was par for the course of being the team’s chairman.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026

To be fair to Meta and Zuckerberg, NDAs and backroom deals are par for the course in the data center boom.

From Salon ● Sep. 4, 2026

When bouts of dissociation started to become par for the course, wearing hardware reminded me I was in a body on planet Earth.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026

This may have been England's best World Cup for 60 years, but at best it was par for the course and at worst a failure.

From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026

They weren’t particularly good-looking teeth, but that was par for the course during this time period.

From "Glitch" by Laura Martin

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