It goes with the territory

Reader question:

In this sentence – It goes with the territory and when you take up the job you expect it – what does "it goes with the territory" mean?

My comments:

It means you have to accept the unpleasant aspects (whatever they are) of the job because they are part and parcel of the whole.

"It goes with the territory" is a term believed to be popularized by Arthur Miller, who in "Death of a Salesman" wrote: "A salesman has to dream, it comes with the territory." I don't know about dreams, but a salesman certainly has quotas – that goes with the territory.

Anyways, understand the term this way. Suppose you are going hiking in the mountains, you have to negotiate your way through various geography, hills and valleys, rivers and creeks, and bumpy roads, if any. These all goes with the territory. Accept them. If you don't accept them, you'd better stay in the city.

Or if you're a celebrity and you enjoy public attention, you should prepare yourself for paparazzi, the gossip column and what have you. Profit-driven newspapers will go out of their way to air your dirty linen in public and you have to live with it. It comes with the territory – Can't have one without the other.

Sports stars get a lot of love when they win. When they lose, they get booed. That, yes, goes with the territory.

My niece is seven and, like all good children, she hates homework. But homework goes with the territory of going to school. School interferes with a happy childhood but it is part of us growing up and being turned into tolerable young adults – she'll learn to deal with it. My fumbling attempt to pacify her is a small pep talk like this: "The worst part of it is to have Ma and Pa and grandies come after us all the time, chanting homework, homework, no homework, no television, isn't it? That's terrible of them doing so. It makes us really sad and unhappy, doesn't it? Why don't we do it this way then? Why don't we finish homework first every day after school? If we do that, dear Ma and Pa and grandies won't have a thing to say but allow us to watch 'silly television' or do whatever we want to."

Alright. Here are media examples of "it comes/goes with the territory".

1. Isiah Thomas, coach of the NBA's New York Knicks, did not blame fans for booing and crying "Fire Isiah!" during their loss, the team's seventh straight, to the Golden State Warriors on November 20, 2007 (Golden State 108, New York 82, AP):

"They were right. What they saw tonight, if I had paid my money to see this game, I'd be upset also. This is New York, and when you're playing well you get cheered, and you play this poorly you get booed and there's a lot of venom that comes at you."

"The booing, 'Get rid of this guy, get rid of me, get rid of him,' that's how the fans react. It comes with the territory we have and the place that we live in. That's how it is, that's how it goes."

2. Britney Spears, pop star, "ran over someone's foot last month. And another this month. And another this week" (Spears might feel the agony of three feet, Los Angeles Times, November 16, 2007):

Over the last month, Spears has run over the feet of three people – two paparazzi and a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy.

At least one incident is being investigated, in part because Spears left the scene of the accident. The Los Angeles Police Department has informed Spears that if she does not provide a statement about the case involving the sheriff's deputy, she could face misdemeanor charges for a vehicle code violation...

But Frank Griffin, a partner in the Bauer-Griffin photo agency, said Spears is inviting the daily attention that results in such incidents. She could "avoid the whole melee by staying home and reading a book,' he said.

"It's part of her lifestyle and I wonder if she could live without it," Griffin said. "If someone gets their foot run over,it goes with the territory."

3. Paris Hilton says she inspires girls (Paris Hilton means business in her visit to Silicon Valley, November 17, 2007, mercurynews.com):

Q: It obviously helps your brand, but I'm curious: What do you personally get out of this intense coverage? Is there any sort of fulfillment that comes with all this attention?

A: Well, I'm a business woman, and this is all for my business. When I'm walking around, usually I'm wearing my clothing line, I'm promoting my fragrance or promoting a movie, so all this is just me doing my job and making a living. And sometimes that attention can get to be too much. But that comes with the territory, so I handle it very well.

Q: There's a pragmatism about this whole thing that you have that I think people are unaware of.

A: A what?

Q: A pragmatism. There's sort of a logic to it: You see this as something you have to do. This is part of your job.

A: Yeah, it is my job.