par

Not as good as what was expected, required, or demanded; not satisfactory or adequate. Jim, I know you've been going through a tough time since your wife passed, but these reports just aren't up to par. I used to eat there all the time, but to be honest, their food hasn't been up to par recently.

To be below average; to be not as good as desired, required, or expected. This essay you turned in on Friday is really under par, Stevens. Has something been distracting you from your studies recently? Our food was rather uninteresting, and the service was really under par. I honestly don't understand why this restaurant is so popular! I'm a bit under par this morning, boss. I don't think I can make it in to work today!

Below average; not as good as desired, required, or expected. This essay you turned in on Friday is really under par, Stevens. Has something been distracting you from your studies recently? Our food was rather uninteresting, and the service was really under par. I honestly don't understand why this restaurant is so popular! I'm feeling a bit under par this morning, boss. I don't think I can make it in to work today!

To be normal or typical (especially when it is a source of annoyance or frustration). This phrase comes from golf, in which "par" is the number of strokes that it should take a player to get the ball into a particular hole on a golf course, or the total number of strokes one should take in a round or game. Of course we're not getting raises again this year—that's just par for the course.

Better than average. If you need a graphic designer, I highly recommend Jeff. His work is well above par. Her performance in sales this quarter is above par, so she deserves a bonus.

better than average or normal. His work is above par, so he should get paid better.

not as good as average or normal. I feel a little below par today. I think I am getting a cold. His work is below par, and he is paid too much money.

equal to someone or something. Your effort is simply not on par with what's expected from you. These two departments are right on par in productivity.

typical; about what one could expect. (This refers to golf courses, not school courses.) So he went off and left you? Well that's about par for the course. He's no friend. I worked for days on this proposal, but it was rejected. That's par for the course around here.

Fig. as good as the standard or average; up to standard. I'm just not feeling up to par today. I must be coming down with something. The manager said that the report was not up to par and gave it back to Mary to do over again.

at the same level as someone or something With their win today, the Rangers are now on a par with the Orioles in the team rankings.

what should be expected because of past experience The school budget is going to be cut again this year, but then that's par for the course.

at the usual or expected standard up to the mark When your work is up to par we can review your salary again. Are your computer skills up to par?

if the way something happens or is done is par for the course, it happens or is done as you would expect, especially when you do not think this is very good 'Gareth was half an hour late.' 'That's just par for the course, isn't it?'

someone or something par excellence is the best or most extreme example of its type China is the destination par excellence for the young and trendy these days.

Also, under par. Not up to the average, normal, or desired standard. For example, I am feeling below par today, but I'm sure I'll recover by tomorrow. This term employs par in the sense of "an average amount or quality," a usage dating from the late 1700s.

As good as, equal to, as in This violinist may be an amateur but he's on a par with professional orchestral players. The noun par has meant "that which is equal" since the mid-1600s; the idiom here was first recorded in 1832.

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.

Also, up to scratch or snuff or speed or the mark . Satisfactory, up to a given standard, as in She didn't feel up to par today so she stayed home, or I'm sure he'll come up to scratch when the time comes, or She's up to snuff again. Nearly all the versions of this idiom come from sports, par from golf, scratch and mark from boxing (after being knocked down a fighter had eight seconds to make his way to a mark scratched in the center of the ring), and speed from racing. However, the allusion in the variant with snuff, which dates from the early 1800s, has been lost.

Usual; typical: Unfortunately, such short-sightedness is par for the course these days.