Par for the Course
2023-03-19
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1And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English.
2In news reports, you can hear about surprising events.
3You can learn about new technologies, new plans, and big changes.
4But in today's Words and Their Stories, we consider how to talk about things that do not change - at least not very much.
5The sun rises in the east and sets in the west. Babies cry when they are hungry.
6Water turns to ice when the temperature drops below freezing.
7These are things we expect.
8In fact, we are so sure about them that we can bank on them.
9To bank on something means that you are not taking a chance by saying something is going to happen or that something is true.
10It is a stronger way of saying that you can count on something.
11And there are some days when we feel like nothing new happened, where today seems almost the same as yesterday.
12In such a situation, we can say same old, same old, which is another way of saying "nothing new or different happened."
13Now consider people's behavior.
14Imagine you are planning to spend time with a friend.
15You agree to meet your friend at a local market, but when you arrive, your friend is not there.
16After waiting almost an hour, you receive a message on your phone.
17It says, "I'm so sorry! I forgot about our meeting! Are you still there?"
18At this point, you simply say to yourself, "par for the course."
19In this example, par for the course means your friend's behavior was not surprising but expected.
20That is because you know your friend often forgets things.
21But it also means you are not pleased with the behavior.
22We mostly use par for the course to express both that we do not like a situation and that the situation is the same as what we expected.
23We can use par for the course to talk about rules or policies we don't like, but also expect.
24For example, regarding a competition, someone might say, "The rules are so unfair. Unfortunately, that's just par for the course."
25You can also use the expression in a neutral way-that is, with neither a positive nor a negative feeling.
26This happens when we are trying to make clear that people shouldn't be surprised by something or place too much importance on it.
27For example, someone might say, "Security checks at airports are par for the course."
28Here, the speaker means, "Because security checks are normal at airports, you shouldn't be surprised by them."
29The word "par" comes from Latin. It can mean "that which is equal."
30Language experts suspect the expression par for the course came from the game of golf, where "par" is the expected score of a skilled player for part of the golf course, or the whole course.
31Next, we look at an expression in American English: Is that a thing? This question asks if something is new or becoming more common.
32For example, imagine you travel far from your home.
33You see a car with unusual lights on its wheels.
34You wonder if that car is the only one with those special lights.
35But the next day, you see another car with similar lights.
36In this situation, you might ask someone who lives in the area, "Is that a thing?"
37The person can tell you if the lights are unusual, or if they are starting to become popular with some people.
38If it's a trend, the person can simply answer, "Yeah, it's a thing."
39We don't ask "Is that a thing?" for something that is already common or expected.
40For example, you would not say "Is that a thing?" for an activity like brushing your teeth.
41However, you could ask the question about a new health trend.
42For example, in 2023, a person might ask if something is "a thing" about using virtual reality for health and fitness.
43That is because the technology is still new and not used by most people.
44Was today's Words and Their Stories the same old, same old for you? I hope not!
45Listen for the expressions from today's program as you read and listen to English.
46Then let us know what you find by writing to us in the Comments section.
47I'm Andrew Smith. And I'm Jill Robbins.
1And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English. 2In news reports, you can hear about surprising events. You can learn about new technologies, new plans, and big changes. 3But in today's Words and Their Stories, we consider how to talk about things that do not change - at least not very much. 4The sun rises in the east and sets in the west. Babies cry when they are hungry. Water turns to ice when the temperature drops below freezing. These are things we expect. In fact, we are so sure about them that we can bank on them. 5To bank on something means that you are not taking a chance by saying something is going to happen or that something is true. It is a stronger way of saying that you can count on something. 6And there are some days when we feel like nothing new happened, where today seems almost the same as yesterday. In such a situation, we can say same old, same old, which is another way of saying "nothing new or different happened." 7Now consider people's behavior. Imagine you are planning to spend time with a friend. You agree to meet your friend at a local market, but when you arrive, your friend is not there. After waiting almost an hour, you receive a message on your phone. It says, "I'm so sorry! I forgot about our meeting! Are you still there?" 8At this point, you simply say to yourself, "par for the course." 9In this example, par for the course means your friend's behavior was not surprising but expected. That is because you know your friend often forgets things. But it also means you are not pleased with the behavior. We mostly use par for the course to express both that we do not like a situation and that the situation is the same as what we expected. 10We can use par for the course to talk about rules or policies we don't like, but also expect. For example, regarding a competition, someone might say, "The rules are so unfair. Unfortunately, that's just par for the course." 11You can also use the expression in a neutral way-that is, with neither a positive nor a negative feeling. This happens when we are trying to make clear that people shouldn't be surprised by something or place too much importance on it. 12For example, someone might say, "Security checks at airports are par for the course." Here, the speaker means, "Because security checks are normal at airports, you shouldn't be surprised by them." 13The word "par" comes from Latin. It can mean "that which is equal." 14Language experts suspect the expression par for the course came from the game of golf, where "par" is the expected score of a skilled player for part of the golf course, or the whole course. 15Next, we look at an expression in American English: Is that a thing? This question asks if something is new or becoming more common. 16For example, imagine you travel far from your home. You see a car with unusual lights on its wheels. You wonder if that car is the only one with those special lights. But the next day, you see another car with similar lights. In this situation, you might ask someone who lives in the area, "Is that a thing?" The person can tell you if the lights are unusual, or if they are starting to become popular with some people. If it's a trend, the person can simply answer, "Yeah, it's a thing." 17We don't ask "Is that a thing?" for something that is already common or expected. For example, you would not say "Is that a thing?" for an activity like brushing your teeth. 18However, you could ask the question about a new health trend. 19For example, in 2023, a person might ask if something is "a thing" about using virtual reality for health and fitness. That is because the technology is still new and not used by most people. 20Was today's Words and Their Stories the same old, same old for you? I hope not! 21Listen for the expressions from today's program as you read and listen to English. Then let us know what you find by writing to us in the Comments section. 22I'm Andrew Smith. And I'm Jill Robbins. 23Andrew Smith wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English. 24_________________________________________________________________ 25Words in This Story 26neutral -adj. not having positive, negative, or other characterizations based on a person's likes or dislikes. 27trend -n. a development toward something new and different 28_________________________________________________________________ 29We want to hear from you. Do you have a similar expression in your language? In the Comments section, you can also practice using any of the expressions from the story. 30We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 31Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.