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on the safe side

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on the safe side

Fig. taking the risk-free path. Let's be on the safe side and call first. I think you should stay on the safe side and call the doctor about this fever.

See also: on, safe, side

on the safe side

Avoiding danger, with a margin for error, as in Just to be on the safe side, let's order another hundred chairs. This idiom was first recorded in 1811.

See also: on, safe, side

on the safe side

mod. taking the risk-free path. Let’s be on the safe side and call first.

See also: on, safe, side