par

above par

1 at a premium.

2 better than average.

☞ Above par is a stock exchange idiom. In this and the following idioms, par is the Latin for 'equal'.

at par at face value.

below (or under) par

1 at a discount.

2 worse than usual, often in relation to a person's health.

☞ As a golfing term, under par means 'better than the average score': seepar for the course below.

on a par with equal in importance or quality to; on an equal level with.

2000Daily Telegraph The listing puts cinemas on a par with cathedrals in the pantheon of English architecture

par for the course what is normal or expected in any given circumstances.

☞ In golf, par is the number of strokes that a first-class player would normally require to get round a particular course.

up to par at an expected or usual level or quality.

1989Randall KenanA Visitation of Spirits Why not him? Did he not look okay? Did he smell bad? Have bad breath? Were his clothes not up to par?