"On a par" or "on par"

Question

Hello,I'm a not sure what is the right form: "on a par" or "on par"? It seems that both are used, but which one is correct? Google returns the following results:"on a par" = 4,460,000"on par" = 8,690,000Example from Guardian Unlimited:US on par with Nazi Germany, says RAF officer in Iraq trial Richard Norton (link)And the same Guardian Unlimited:On a par with our heroes  (link)Thank you!Kind regards,Dmitri

Marius Hancu · Accepted Answer

I'd use the long version:
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=57422&dict=CALD

Also:

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par

2 : equality as to value, condition, or circumstances : common level -- usually used with on or upon<had come out of the war on a par with the defeated nations -- Osbert Sitwell> <his victories in statecraft and diplomacy were never on a par with his soaring ambitions -- A.C.Cole> <I and my contemporary bards are by no means upon a par -- William Cowper>

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Kree · Answer

To me, "on par" sounds better than "on a par" -- or maybe I just hear "on par" more often than "on a par." I wonder if that's an American English idosyncracy? I don't know.

In the example you give first, the usage is in a headline, so the term "US on par" is ok. In a sentence, though, it should be "The United States is on par with ..."
(Though I think the RAF officer who said this must be insane!)

And I most closely associate "par" with a golf term that means the number of golf strokes it should take to get from the start of the hole to the cup. If a hole is par three, you "make par" if you hit the ball in in three strokes. If it is a par four hole, it is probably longer than a par three which is why you get the extra stroke.

Kree in California

"On a par" or "on par"

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