come with the territory

English

Alternative forms

• go with the territory

Etymology

Probably an allusion to the territory assigned to a travelling salesman.

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

Verb

come with the territory (third-person singular simple present comes with the territory, present participle coming with the territory, simple past came with the territory, past participle come with the territory)

1. (idiomatic) To be a common, and often inconvenient, accompaniment of an occupation, situation, or occurrence.
   • 1965 November 29, Jack O'Brian, “The Voice of Broadway”, in Palm Beach Daily News, retrieved 28 October 2012, page 4:

     Johnny Carson's three-year tenure as top man of "Tonight" leaves him less edgy than any of that grind's predecessors and he has a fine relaxed philosophy about the side irritants of the nation's favorite chatterthon: "Loss of privacy comes with the territory."

   • 1974 July 30, Jim Fiebig, “Problem Solving”, in Observer-Reporter, Pennsylvania, USA, retrieved 28 October 2012, page A4:

     When one decides to raise sheep, he accepts the fact that coyotes come with the territory.

   • 1993 June 25, Richard Sacks, “Opinion: At The New Yorker, They Take Their Fact Checking Seriously”, in New York Times, retrieved 28 October 2012:

     Many checkers have been upbraided by lordly writers and editors and big shots of all stripes. Such abuse came with the territory.

   • 2009 March 19, Joe Klein, “Don't Panic — At Least Not Yet”, in Time:

     Impatience . . . is chronic in the mass media. Indeed, it comes with the territory.

See also

• part and parcel, all in a day's work

Further reading

• “come with the territory”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.