I have heard the following used often
Over the course of the semester, …
but a friend recently told me
Through the course of the semester, …
Are both of these usages of the idiom acceptable? I feel like the second one is strange while the first one is acceptable.
Best Answer
The first is certainly acceptable. Although I've heard the second example used, in my opinion it's not correct. It may perhaps be most charitably read as "through[out] the course of the semester", which is fine.