Each week of 2017 we present an English idiom.
“to be par for the course”: a behavior, event, or situation that is not good but is normal or as you would expect it to be (normal sein; das war zu erwarten)
It’s likely that this phrase comes from the game of golf, which is played on a course. The number of strokes a good player would require for a hole is called “par”; for example, Hole 8 might have a par of 3 strokes.
Example 1: We weren’t able to reach anyone at the ad agency. Everyone is out of the office until after Easter. That’s par for the course right before a major holiday, isn’t it?
Example 2: Paying a higher price for a last-minute flight is par for the course.
