Par for the course

[Tomisimo]

I'd like to know how to say "par for the course" in Spanish.

Literally:

par – the standard number of strokes for a hole or for a course in golf.
course – golf course.

Figuratively:

par for the course – this is used in a negative manner to indicate that poor/inferior quality/performance etc is to be expected in a certain situation.
not up to par – someone or something has not reached an acceptable/normal/standard level of performance or quality.


So... any ideas on how to express these ideas in Spanish?

[Perikles]

It's strange than this Latin word does not seem to have been taken over by Spanish (or has it? ). My Gran Diccionario Oxford gives:

par || noun uncountable
A
1 (equal level) on a par (with somebody/something): the two athletes are on a par los dos atletas son del mismo nivel; the two systems are more or less on a par los dos sistemas son más o menos parecidos or equivalentes; the new law puts us on a par with workers in other countries la nueva ley nos pone en igualdad de condiciones or nos equipara con los trabajadores de otros países
2 (accepted standard): his acting is not up to par su actuación no es del nivel adecuado; his work was below par this month este mes su trabajo no estuvo a la altura de lo que se esperaba; not to be/feel up to par, to be/feel below par (colloquial) no estar*/sentirse* del todo bien
B (Finance)
1 par (of exchange) tipo masculine de cambio
2 par (value) valor masculine nominal; at par (par) a la par; above/below par (par) por encima/por debajo de la par
C (in golf) par masculine; three under/over par tres bajo/sobre par; par for the course (normal, standard) lo normal, lo habitual; (lit: in golf) el par del recorrido

[chileno]

No estar a la altura o no estar a la par = not up to par

[poli]

I have head natural or naturalmente used in a sarcastic tone used to mean par for the course. I imagine you can say ¿qué esperas?

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

"Par for the course", when it means "lo habitual", in Mexico can be said by "para variar".

--The boss yelled at me this morning. (El jefe me gritó esta mañana.)
--That's par for the course lately... everyone has been yelled at this week. (Para variar. Le ha gritado a todos esta semana.)

Another way to say it may be "como siempre".

I agree that "not up to par" can be "no estar a la altura/al nivel", or "dejar que desear".

I'm sorry that my work was not up to par this time.
Lamento que mi trabajo no haya estado a la altura esta vez.
Lamento que mi trabajo haya dejado que desear esta vez.


@Poli: I also agree with the use of "¿qué esperabas (que pasara/sucediera)?"
--¿Qué esperabas? El jefe le ha gritado a todo el mundo esta semana.
(as in "did you expect he wouldn't yell at you if he has yelled at everyone else?")

[JPablo]

Agree with the above.

Also, "como era de esperar" would be another option.

Moliner da,
A par de. Junto a o a la altura de: ‘Puede ponerse a [o al] par de los mejores’. Equiparar. Ahora es más frecuente, «al par de».

Pero se usa más en el sentido positivo.
También,
Ir a la par. Compartir ganancias o pérdidas a partes iguales en un juego o en un negocio.
Sin par. Incomparable: ‘La sin par Dulcinea. Un paisaje sin par’.

In a derogatory sense, I thought of "vaya tres patas para un banco" as in saying that 3 persons are equally useless to help you on what you need them for... indicating they are not up to par, something like As useless as three tits on a bull, or
As much use as rubber lips on a woodpecker... type of idea.
(A bench with only 3 legs it is not of much use...)

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by JPablo

As useless as three tits on a bull,

It's actually as useful as, not as useless as, which is an interesting difference. Similar expressions involve the pope and nuns , not forgetting the standard English expression as useful as a chocolate teapot.

[JPablo]

Very interesting, Perikles... not sure if someone did any joke with the usefulness of a tiger in the woods, talking about golf, but the one on the chocolate and the one on the pope and the nuns are definitely very clear in sense.

[sosia]

Originally Posted by Perikles

not forgetting the standard English expression as useful as a chocolate teapot.

I didn't know the expression. It's really funny
see here for the experimental etst
http://www.plokta.com/plokta/issue23/teapot.htm


@poli
par for the course: agree with angelica:
- qué esperabas / para variar/ como siempre /como suele suceder /no es ninguna sorpresa

not up to par : no llega al nivel, no tiene nivel
Saludos

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by sosia

I didn't know the expression. It's really funny
see here for the experimental etst
http://www.plokta.com/plokta/issue23/teapot.htm

This had reached catastrophic proportions by T+15s, with total loss of H2O containment

[JPablo]

However, it should be noted that if a wider view of possible functional roles is taken, the object of our experiments is not completely without use, as was subsequently demonstrated by the principal investigator (Fig 9).

Excellent scientific link! (Very authoritative!!! and Practical!)