Idiom
come with the territory
Meaning
To be a common, and often inconvenient, accompaniment of an occupation, situation, or occurrence.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“Long hours come with the territory in this job.”
“Sore muscles come with the territory when you start a new exercise routine.”
“Dealing with angry customers is unpleasant, but it comes with the territory when you work in retail.”
“If you want to be a professional athlete, traveling every week and missing family events simply comes with the territory.”
“While the fame and public adoration were rewarding, the constant lack of privacy was a burden that inevitably came with the territory of being a world-renowned artist.”
Examples
simple
“Long hours come with the territory in this job.”
“Sore muscles come with the territory when you start a new exercise routine.”
contextual
“Dealing with angry customers is unpleasant, but it comes with the territory when you work in retail.”
“If you want to be a professional athlete, traveling every week and missing family events simply comes with the territory.”
complex
“While the fame and public adoration were rewarding, the constant lack of privacy was a burden that inevitably came with the territory of being a world-renowned artist.”
Origin
Probably an allusion to the commercial districts assigned to travelling salesmen, the phrase likely emerged from the necessary, if occasionally tiresome, difficulties inherent to such a post. The travel, the lodgings, and the professional rebuffs were understood to be inseparable from the job. The expression suggests that a specific role cannot be neatly detached from its less agreeable requirements.
Key words
Related idioms
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