idioms - Is "below par" good or bad?


I realize a lot of English expressions derive from sports: "his presentation was a slam-dunk," "she really fumbled through that," or "that's pretty much par for the course."


I don't play golf, but I believe "below par" means really good. But doesn't describing something as "below par" mean really not good?



Answer



I don't believe the general use of this expression comes from the golf use - which would explain the discrepancy - though the two are closely related.


The word par has many definitions, including average or normal amount and usual/accepted standard.


Therefore something below par is below average, or below the acceptable standard - hence the usual, negative, meaning of the phrase.


In golf a hole's par is the number of strokes considered average or standard to complete it, and being under par means using fewer strokes than average - which happens to be a good thing, because of how the game works.


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