Sub-par
D | Monday, May 16, 2005

---

Lis, I'm taking up your cause...

Can someone tell me what the deal is with "sub-par"? Something weird is going on with this word/phrase and it is bothering me. I'll illustrate my concern with the following two sentences:

1. My skills with analogies are sub-par.

2. Tiger Wood's score for the third round of the Masters was sub-par.

Sentence number one is the colloquial use of sub-par, used to mean "worse than normal." Being sub-par is not a good thing. But sentence number two is the golf usage, where you want to be sub-par, or "under par." In reality, the farther under par you shoot, the better golf you are playing. So in one sense you do not want to be sub-par, but in the other sense you do want to be sub-par. What's the deal with that? Can anyone suggest some other words/phrases which have similar duel meanings?

D | 5/16/2005 05:40:00 PM |   Post your comment

---

Comments:

This post has been removed by a blog administrator.
Lisa | May 16, 2005 10:02 PM | permalink
 

---

Not nice to make fun of me. And yes, I meant it to be "DUEL" as in with swords.

S-WORDS.
D | May 16, 2005 10:42 PM | permalink
 

---

I am shocked at the sheer hypocrisy you've demonstrated by deleting my post. You insist that "[t]his is an open forum and [you] encourage people to present opposing points of view" and to "feel free to tell [you] whatever you think, whenever you think it", but you obviously have a problem with anyone who demonstrates any opinions that differ from yours.

I had planned on ranting about free speech and the First Amendment and so on, but you of all people should be familiar with these "allegedly" inalienable rights.

Besides, censors only censor that which they know to be the truth, anyway.
Lisa | May 16, 2005 11:08 PM | permalink
 

---

Oh shut up.

And maybe it was one of the other "blog administrators" who removed your free speech.
D | May 17, 2005 3:03 AM | permalink
 

---

Sub-par is a special case in terms of golf where the low score is the winner. In most sports, you want a high score. It's really golf that's messed up, not the word sub-par. If you want a messed up word try "cleave."

As for words where in one sense it's good and the other it's bad try...

1) Bad
2) Sick
3) Fat [phat]
4) Tight
5) Hot (good when it's coffee bad when it's beer)
6) Special (good when it's better than normal, bad when it's education)
7) Nerd (bad in most contexts, good in Revenge of the Nerds)
8) Tall - wait that's good in all contexts...
Chris Welter | May 17, 2005 7:48 AM | permalink
 

---

I always thought "I shot par" meant I was average. I believe you are mistaken when you hypenate -thus associating the "sub" with the word "par" instead of the idea of what par means. That's why we have words like eagle and birdie. If you wanted to say I shot better than par, you'd say eagle or birdie or "above average" if you want to say below average - you say sub par... seriously. get a day job! :) Beth
Anonymous | May 17, 2005 8:10 PM | permalink
 

---

Yeah, you're wrong. I could not disagree more. On one hole, I would say you shot an eagel or a birdie based on the number of strokes you were under. But if you had an entire round under par, you could say I shot sub-par (yes, I continue to hyphenate). The difference between the common use and the golf use persists.

And I have a day job. You should call to say hello and find out how my day job is going...?
D | May 17, 2005 8:44 PM | permalink
 

---

let me go out on a limb here and say....horsefaced? is that a good one? you know, because for a horse, it would be good....why am i writing, this will be deleted in three seconds. hi derek.
Anonymous | May 19, 2005 1:49 PM | permalink
 

---

Wow, you two are out of control.

Hi Brianna!
D | May 19, 2005 6:07 PM | permalink
 

---

in golf isnt "par" the average? i would assume in day to day use that it was adapted to mean below average, as in a "sub par performance". i cant think of another traditional sport in which the lower the score the better. certainly in day to day life below average isnt a good thing. im wondering if "par" is a latin word, maybe the term was adopted for golf from something else? just a thought.
Sarah | July 04, 2005 12:59 AM | permalink
 

---

Post your comment