all in a day's work

Idioms and Phrases

Also, all in the day's work . Expected and normal, as in He said I had to finish these reports by five o'clock—all in the day's work . This phrase is sometimes used as an ironic comment on an unpleasant but not abnormal situation. The expression possibly alludes to the nautical term day's work , defined in 1789 as the reckoning of a ship's course during the 24 hours from noon to noon. [c. 1800]