(no subject)

[jack]

In golf, low scores are good, and there is a term "par", meaning the average expected number of shots to pot a ball in a particular hole: if your number of shots is below par, that's good, and above par, that's bad.

For a long time non-golf metaphoric uses of "par" bothered me. Eventually I decided "below par" could be used to mean (or correspondingly, "above par" the opposite) either numerically lower than average, or worse than average.

This has the advantage that it makes sense to people both ways round, but the disadvantage that the meaning has to be inferred from context. Are we ok with this, or should we attempt to recapture "below par" to mean "worse than average" or even "both worse and numerically lower higher than average"? Was it ever used that restrictedly?

Comments

[teleute.livejournal.com]

I have always hated this. I just say "moved" with a qualifier, because neither 'backward' nor 'forward' ever make sence to me. And I always end up thinking one and saying the other or confusing everyone else (or just confusing myself, which is nearly as bad). Avoidance is a suitable tactic I think.